She Took My Breath Away!
by Brockster550
Summary: Harry never thought Daphne Greengrass would be his date for the Valentine's Day dance. He knows he made a good choice, but how will the rest of the school react? Read on to find out. "Now complete!"
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: No copyright intended! I just own this fanfic, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling._

 **Author's note: A Harry/Daphne story, starting two days before Valentine's Day in Harry's second year, where a Valentine's Day Ball will be held. Mostly AU. Some Ron and Ginny bashing.** **Ginny also won't have any moments of being possessed in this story. Rated T.**

She Took My Breath Away!

Fanfic by Brockster550

 **Chapter One**

It was February 12th and twelve year old Harry Potter was outside, sitting at his favourite spot by the Black Lake, trying to pass the time before dinner. Valentine's Day was on Sunday and the incompetent defence teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart publicly announced that there would be a ball for the holiday at breakfast this morning before classes. Then he turned to Harry and claimed that the girls would be 'over the moon' to go with him. This embarrassed Harry to the extreme, but Lockhart acted like it was just a ploy to avoid the ball. Throughout the day in between classes, many girls kept asking him to ask them to the Valentine's Day Ball, leaving Harry overwhelmed and unable to respond. One of the girls in particular, Ginny Weasley kept hounding Harry hoping he would ask her. Harry wouldn't even think of going to the ball with Ginny because she was Ron's little sister, and going with her would be like going with his sister (which was just awkward to Harry and just wrong). Harry dreaded going to lunch, as it turned out that Lockhart even brought up the Valentine's Day Ball again, embarrassing Harry once more.

(Harry's memory)

It was like five to ten minutes into lunch, which 'prompted' the defence teacher to face Harry again.

"So Harry," said Professor Lockhart, not bothering to keep his voice down. "Did you ask any girl to the Valentine's Day Ball yet?"

"NoIdint!" said Harry hastily.

"Oh come on, Harry," Lockhart blurted out once more. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Well, I'm telling the truth," said Harry, trying to keep his temper in check. "I didn't ask anybody to the ball…"

Quite a number of girls (some of them were in Gryffindor, some in Hufflepuff, some in Ravenclaw, and even some in Slytherin) started batting their eyes at Harry, once again hoping he would ask them to the ball. This humiliated Harry even further and some of the teachers glared at Lockhart (who simply ignored them).

"... And I don't plan to go," Harry continued, aimed at the defence teacher. "I don't even know how to dance anyway."

The girls who were batting their eyes at Harry just gave a downhearted, "Awwwwwwww!"

They were clearly disappointed that Harry stated his intentions to avoid the ball. Professor Lockhart, of course assumed that Harry was joking (choosing to be oblivious that Harry wasn't). Harry left the Great Hall in a rush, unaware that one of the Slytherin girls (who had ice-blue eyes and blonde hair stopping a few inches past the shoulders) remained hopeful that he'll change his mind. Harry also didn't know that Ginny felt tears welling up in her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Ron. Fred and George rolled their eyes, knowing that their little sister had a huge crush on Harry. Neville and Hermione watched Harry's retreating back until he was no longer in sight.

(End of memory)

Harry came out of the memory. He still didn't feel ready to go back inside, not wanting to deal with anymore of Lockhart's insistence on asking Harry about going to the ball. Why did the incompetent defence teacher have to humiliate him in front of the whole school? Harry hated his Boy-Who-Lived fame due to it being a constant reminder that he no longer had his parents anymore. This wasn't the kind of fame Harry wanted, after all what kid would want to celebrate his or her fame that also resulted in his or her parents' deaths? Harry was brought out of his musings when he heard footsteps approaching. He experienced an inner panic, believing it was Ginny who found him. But to his relief, it wasn't Ginny, but a girl with ice-blue eyes and long blonde hair that stopped a few inches past her shoulders. She also had green trimmings on her school robes, identifying her as a Slytherin. Harry sort of recognized her as Daphne Greengrass, also known as the Ice Queen of Slytherin.

"Hello, Potter!" she greeted politely.

"Hi," said Harry neutrally, believing Daphne's presence to be a trap. "If you think I'm gonna go to that ball because Lockhart said so, you're making a big mistake."

"I'm not here to cause you any trouble," assured Daphne. "I just thought you'd want some company."

"Oh yeah, just for my fame as the Boy-Who-Lived," said Harry, still believing Daphne was setting him up. "Ron has already implied that a number of times."

"No, I mean I want to get to know you for who you are." Daphne clarified.

"Oh, sorry," said Harry sheepishly, but felt relieved at the same time. "But what can I say? I'm not all that interesting."

"I seriously doubt that," said Daphne. "You've helped Gryffindor win by catching the snitch every game you've played. So why would you say you're not interesting?"

Harry panicked inwardly, the only thing he could talk about was his life before Hogwarts with the Dursleys. No one was supposed to know about that because Uncle Vernon especially 'taught' him that bad things would happen to him if the truth were to leak out. Harry had already suffered enough abuse and he was sick of it. Every time he 'tattled' to somebody about his treatment, the Dursleys always somehow got off easy and 'punished the freak' greatly for it afterward.

"I'm just not!" said Harry, desperately hoping Daphne wouldn't ask him about his Pre-Hogwarts life.

"I see," said Daphne, even though she was getting suspicious of Harry unable to answer her question right away. She decided to avoid badgering Harry about his supposedly being uninteresting. "If I may ask, would you change your mind and go to the Valentine's Day Ball if there was at least one girl who wanted to go with you for the person you are?"

"Maybe," said Harry. "But many of the girls seem to only be interested in going with me for my fame and Ginny Weasley, of course is no exception to that. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so nervous around me."

"What If I told you that I'd wish to be your date for the ball?" said Daphne.

"I don't know," said Harry. "Aren't Gryffindors and Slytherins supposed to hate each other?"

"Only those who want to be part of that pointless rivalry," said Daphne. "There are some decent Slytherins and certainly some of them would like to be your friend."

"Oh," said Harry. "That wasn't what Ron told me. At the sorting ceremony last year, he claimed that all Slytherins are evil and jerks."

"He's just talking rubbish," said Daphne. "It's not one's abilities or which house they get placed in that defines who they are. It's the choices they make that really defines it."

"Oh okay, that makes sense," Harry realized. "But what would Slytherins like Malfoy think if they were to see you as my date?"

"That's not their concern," said Daphne. "I've got my ways of dealing with nosy people."

"Oh I see," said Harry. "Another reason I'm avoiding the ball is because of my lack of good dance skills."

"I can teach you if you want," Daphne offered. "You won't know how if you don't try and practice."

"Well, okay," said Harry, accepting the offer. "But don't blame me if your toes start hurting afterwards."

"I think it'll be worth it, Harry," said Daphne, smiling at him. "We can find an empty classroom to practice in."

"Well, okay," said Harry. "Shall we do that right now?"

"Why not wait until tomorrow?" suggested Daphne. "Since it will be Saturday, that'll give us plenty of time to practice for the Valentine's Day dance."

"That's a better idea," agreed Harry. "Hopefully we won't get bothered too much, by the wrong people especially."

"Shortly after breakfast tomorrow, we'll get started." said Daphne.

"Sounds good." said Harry.

Daphne walked away (presumably back to the dungeons of Slytherin). Maybe it was just him, but Harry was certain that Daphne looked stunningly beautiful. It wasn't just the eyes, but her blonde hair made it even better. This was certainly the first time he'd seen Daphne with a smile on her face.

(The next day, after breakfast)

Once breakfast ended, Harry left the Great Hall in a jiffy to help Daphne look for an empty classroom. She happened to beat him to the punch when she found one first (she was waiting outside the door). Once they were certain the coast was clear, Harry and Daphne entered the classroom, made sure the door was locked and then Daphne cast some kind of other charm on the door.

"That was a privacy ward, Harry," she stated. "Just to be safe that nobody barges in on us while we're practicing."

"I see," said Harry. "If I may ask, was you calling me by my first name another example of proving you wanna be friends with me for who I am?"

"Yes, Harry," assured Daphne. "In private, I can call you Harry. But due to this pointless rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, I'll have to call you by your surname in public, to avoid retribution from the pure-blood supremacists. My ice princess glare may intimidate one or two, maybe three people. But in bigger numbers, it'll be a bigger problem."

"I don't blame ya," said Harry. "Maybe going to the dance as dates will be a start at ending the rivalry."

"Yeah, hopefully it will," agreed Daphne. "But it won't be easy."

"True," said Harry. "But it would be better than trying to rule the world."

"That's for sure," said Daphne. "But we'd better start practicing, so we can be ready for tomorrow."

So that's what they did. They began practicing for the dance, with Daphne turning on some classical music to help. A couple of times, Harry _did_ accidentally step on some of Daphne's toes. He apologized for it several times, but Daphne assured him it wasn't a big deal. After a couple hours of practicing, they decided to take a break.

"Tomorrow is bound to be interesting." said Daphne.

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "Nobody will expect this."

"Malfoy especially." said Daphne.

"What, how so?" said Harry.

"Well," Daphne began revealing. "His father drew up a marriage contract a couple weeks into the summer holidays and blackmailed my dad into agreeing with it. The marriage contract is for me to marry Draco on his eighteenth birthday. He had this grin behind his father's back and that told me that my dad was blackmailed into agreeing with it."

"Dang," said Harry, shuddering at the thought. "So you're partially using me because of it?"

"Yes, but I still wish to be your date for the person you are," assured Daphne. "I'm hoping that if you and I go to the Valentine's Day dance as dates, Draco will be so disgusted that he won't want the marriage contract anymore."

"Okay, I'll help you out with that," said Harry. "But I don't have anything to wear to the dance."

"I'll write a letter to my dad and explain," said Daphne. "Maybe he has a spare set of dress robes he'll let you to borrow."

"I just hope they'll fit." said Harry.

"Harry, you're forgetting about something," said Daphne. "Dad can use a spell to make them your size."

"I hope he'll be supportive of you going with me." said Harry.

"He will be, Harry," assured Daphne. "If Malfoy decides he doesn't want the contract anymore, dad will be so happy."

"Okay," said Harry. "I just hate to get on anyone's bad side."

"I don't blame ya, Harry," said Daphne. "But it'll be alright."

So she and Harry continued practicing for the dance. They stopped at around an hour before lunch, so Daphne headed back to the dungeons of Slytherin to write to her father. She finished writing her letter to her father, which read:

 _Hi dad,_

 _How are you doing? There will be a Valentine's Day dance and I will get to be going with Harry Potter. Maybe this will make Malfoy decide that he won't want the marriage contract anymore. Harry doesn't have any dress robes and I was wondering if you have a spare set of dress robes he can borrow. If you don't, then maybe finding a set emerald-green dress robes would be a good idea since Harry has emerald-green eyes. Hope to hear from you soon._

 _Love,_

 _Daphne_

Daphne folded the letter up, pocketed it into her school robes and started heading to the owlery to get her letter mailed. She couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of Draco witnessing Harry as her date. Once Daphne tied the letter to her family owl's leg, it took off towards Greengrass Manor. All too soon, it was lunchtime and the students headed to the Great Hall. Harry tried entering without detection (so he wouldn't get spotted by the defence teacher), but as usual, luck just wasn't with him.

"So tell me, Harry," Professor Lockhart blurted out, in his direction. "How excited are you to make it to the dance tomorrow?"

Harry ignored it because he was already tired of the incompetent defence professor badgering him. It also wasn't any of Lockhart's business to know _who_ Harry would be going with. Alot of the girls started batting their eyes at Harry once more (Ginny especially). Lockhart refused to relent and kept pestering Harry, who finally got fed up and left the Great Hall. Harry just returned to Gryffindor Tower and up to the second year boys' dormitory to avoid the majority of the school and saw an owl with a package for him.

'Now that's strange.' thought Harry.

So he went to relieve the owl of it's burden, then it took off once that had been taken care of. Harry opened the box and saw some fine emerald-green dress robes. There was also a letter, so he unfolded it and realized who it turned out to be from. The letter read:

 _Harry,_

 _I heard about you agreeing to go to the Valentine's Day dance with my daughter, Daphne. I purchased some dress robes that were emerald-green for you after Daphne told me about your eyes being that exact colour. Good luck at the dance and good luck once more in trying to make Malfoy not want the marriage contract anymore._

 _Yours Sincerely,_

 _Lord Greengrass_

Harry was lost in thought, to the point where he didn't hear the door open.

"So you are going to the dance after all?" asked a familiar voice.

Harry jumped in surprise and saw Neville standing in the doorway (which relieved him).

"Yes Neville, I am." Harry admitted.

"May I ask who you're going with?" said Neville.

"Daphne Greengrass," said Harry. "Her father sent me some emerald-green dress robes."

"Nice," said Neville. "Alot of girls will be jealous, they'll wish it was them in Daphne's place."

"Yeah," said Harry. "Do you plan to go with anybody or just by yourself?"

"Yeah, I plan to go with Hannah." said Neville.

"That's wonderful, Neville," said Harry. "I can't risk letting anybody find out I'm going with Daphne, at least not yet. Ron and Ginny especially."

"Yeah, Ron will believe that she corrupted you," said Neville. "I saw that look on Ginny's face, the one that says that you're the only one for her."

"I can't go with Ginny, it'd be like going on a date with my own sister," said Harry. "And that's just awkward."

"Yeah, I understand that." said Neville.

So he left the dormitory, then Harry got out some parchment, some ink and a quill. He needed to thank Lord Greengrass for the robes. As soon as he finished writing the thank you letter, Hedwig flew up to the still-open window (as if she found out what Harry was doing) and tapped it with her beak to let Harry know she was there. Then Harry tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and she took off to deliver it.

(The next day, around noon)

It was finally Valentine's Day and Harry was getting ready for the dance. Neville was helping Harry and Harry helping Neville with getting ready in return. Once they were ready, the two boys left Gryffindor Tower at noon (half an hour until the ball was due to begin) to meet up with their respective dates. Daphne and Hannah were waiting by an abandoned classroom that was halfway between the way from Gryffindor Tower to the Great Hall. Daphne had her hair in a bun while Hannah had her pigtails braided. Daphne was wearing forest-green dress robes and Hannah was wearing pink dress robes. Harry held an arm out at Daphne and she linked one of her arms in Harry's, Neville did the same with Hannah. Then Harry and Neville started escorting their respective dates to the Great Hall. Upon arriving, alot of girls were not only surprised that Harry came after all, but that his date was the Ice Queen of Slytherin. Whispers were heard as Harry and Daphne were passing by student after student. Harry saw that Hermione was standing by Oliver Wood (indicating that he asked her to be his date). Hermione and Oliver were surprised (and impressed) that Harry's date was Daphne and they gave thumbs-up (with Harry and Daphne returning them). Fred, George and Lee were also impressed that Harry and Daphne were putting the house rivalry aside, for the sake of having fun. Inevitably, Ginny happened to see that and she looked as though she wanted to throw up (at the same time, trying to fight the tears). Ron, too spotted Harry with Daphne and he was in utter disbelief.

"That snake corrupted Harry," said Ron to himself. "What in the _hell_ was he thinking?"

'That bitch stole my Harry from me,' thought Ginny angrily. 'I can't believe she would manipulate him into claiming he wouldn't go, just so I wouldn't get to dance with him!'

So Ginny started stomping over to Harry and Daphne to confront the Ice Queen, only to be held back by her twin brothers.

"Not so fast, Ginevra," said Fred and George in unison. "Harry would never even think of dating you."

The twins had little choice but to drag their sister out of the Great Hall (as she started threatening to curse Daphne to kingdom come). It seemed like no matter how many times she was told, Ginny would never accept that Harry would never date her and nothing would ever seem to persuade her otherwise. Ron also tried to confront Harry over his choice as a date being Daphne, only for Lee to cast the leg-locker curse on him (resulting in Ron hopping around on his feet).

"Alright," Professor McGonagall announced, once it was 12:30 PM. "It's time for the dance to start!"

So everybody who had dates walked toward the middle of the Great Hall. Harry felt his heart beat as he placed his hands on Daphne's waist. Daphne placed her arms around the back of Harry's neck. The music started to signal the start of the dance and everybody began dancing away. Harry and Daphne were enjoying it, which didn't go unnoticed by Draco. He was so outraged that he left the Great Hall, looking as though he was going to blow chunks (hardly believing that Daphne went with his arch nemesis). Harry and Daphne felt that they were in their own private world as they continued dancing away.

'Bloody hell!' thought Harry as he looked into Daphne's eyes. 'She's _really_ taking my breath away! Those eyes, her hair, and more importantly, her personality. This is just making Daphne more and more beautiful!'

 _To be continued!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything in the Harry Potter series, just the fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Author's note: This story originally wasn't intended to be anymore than a one-shot. Since the story received unexpected popularity, I decided to turn it into a multi-chapter story, which is the first time I've turned a one-shot into a multi chapter story. The chapters won't have any names.**

 **Chapter Two**

As Harry and Daphne continued dancing to the music, more whispers and murmurs started. It was a clear indication that alot of girls wished that Harry asked them. Professors McGonagall and Snape (the head of Gryffindor and Slytherin houses respectively) were stunned to see Harry and Daphne putting in some effort to forget about the house rivalries. The other teachers were impressed with that while Professor Dumbledore acted like he was all fine with it (but inwardly, he wasn't pleased).

'No no, Harry,' thought Dumbledore. 'You should've been dancing with Miss Weasley, not Miss Greengrass.'

Meanwhile in an unused classroom, Fred and George locked the door and cast some silence wards so Ginny couldn't leave. Regardless, the twins still stood by the door, facing their sister with their arms crossed and stern looks.

"What's with those looks?" snapped Ginny.

"You know exactly why, Ginevra," said the twins simultaneously, ignoring their sister's seething at being called by her given name. "We heard you threatening to curse Daphne just because she's Harry's date for the Valentine's Day dance."

"I was supposed to be his date, not the ice queen," shouted Ginny, outraged that her twin brothers weren't on her side. "How could she just _corrupt_ my Harry? She knows that he's mine and mine only!"

"Harry won't even think of dating you, Ginevra," said the twins, again ignoring their sister's anger. "He even told us that. It's time for you to forget about that crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. The legend and the person are two different people."

"No, no, no, no, _no_!" squealed Ginny. "You're just saying that because you just wanna ruin my _happiness_!"

"Uhhh, geeezzz!" groaned the twins in exasperation, then they resumed in a normal voice. "You're gonna stay here until you agree to quit hounding Harry like a crazy fangirl."

"I'm not a crazy fangirl," snapped Ginny. "And I don't hound Harry!"

"Then how do you explain the number of times he gets uncomfortable when you give him that very look, huh?" asked Fred (or George) sternly.

"It's because he doesn't want to admit it yet," cried Ginny. "He knows it deep down that he and I are destined for each other!"

"That only exists in your fantasy, Ginevra," said George (or Fred). "But this is reality. You gotta quit living in a fantasy because Harry will never go out with you."

Ginny stamped her feet in frustration over the 'fact' that nobody would take her side (as well as her twins brothers continuing to call her by her given name instead of her preferred name). So Fred and George continued to keep watch over their sister until she decided to lighten up and leave Harry alone. Ginny, however refused to relent and thus had to stay under watch, much to her annoyance. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ron was still under the leg locker curse and he had no choice but to hop his way out of the Great Hall.

Meanwhile, Draco stomped his way back to the Slytherin common room. He still couldn't believe that his arch nemesis went to the Valentine's Dance with the girl he believed was his. Two of Draco's fellow second year Slytherins came up to him to provide him some comfort.

"Potter!" Draco ranted. "I can't believe he would corrupt my girl!"

"We'll get her sorted out, Draco," assured a girl with a pug-like face. "Slytherins and Gryffindors are supposed to hate each other!"

"She won't be easy for retaliation," said a tall, thin boy with a rabbit-like appearance. "But it's nothing we can't handle, Draco."

"Thanks Theo, thanks Pansy," said Draco to the two Slytherins standing by him. "Wait until my father hears about Daphne defying me and the marriage contract! He'll have a better chance at talking some sense into her!"

Back in the Great Hall, Harry escorted Daphne over to a table. Then he pulled a chair out for her to sit on and went to get some punch for himself and his date. Once Harry made it back with two goblets of punch, he and Daphne began a conversation.

"So Harry, how come you never came to any formals?" asked Daphne.

"Formals?" said Harry, with a perplexed look on his face. "What formals?"

"Well, members of most ancient and most noble houses take turns holding formals at their respective manors," Daphne explained. "House Potter is one of them, House Greengrass and House Longbottom are two others."

"I never knew that," said Harry, flabbergasted. "How wasn't I ever informed of this?!"

"Your magical guardian should've told you." stated Daphne.

"Is that bad?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said Daphne. "Whoever your magical guardian is, it's his or her duty to inform you of your magical heritage, and especially of your inheritance since you're the head of House Potter."

"Woah," said Harry, jumping in surprise. "This is all new to me! But I have no idea who my magical guardian is."

What neither Harry nor Daphne realized was that Professor Dumbledore was sitting on the headmaster's chair behind the staff table, observing them for some unknown reason. While the headmaster couldn't hear the conversation (due to being out of earshot, especially with the music playing), he still understood what it was about. But he couldn't let his deputy headmistress nor his potions teacher find out why he was eyeing Harry and Daphne so intently.

'Harry, my boy,' thought the headmaster desperately. 'I'm afraid you're making a mistake talking to Miss Greengrass. I can't afford to allow you to associate with someone whose family is neutral. You need to be with Miss Weasley.'

"Well," said Daphne. "It seems like Professor Dumbledore is your magical guardian, Harry. After your parents' deaths, alot of families have been going crazy, wanting to take you under their wing."

"I don't understand how or why Dumbledore wanted to be my guardian." said Harry.

"From what my mum and dad once told me and my sister," said Daphne. "Dumbledore is the chief warlock of the Wizengamot, so he used that to declare himself your magical guardian. No matter how many times he was badgered into giving you to any magical family, Dumbledore was adamant on placing you elsewhere, under the claim that you would be safer away from the wizarding world."

"Which is irony," said Harry, with contempt in his voice. "I was raised in the muggle world, but I was never safe where I was placed. I'm not sure if I'm ready to bring up why."

"I won't pressure you into doing so, Harry," assured Daphne, giving him a smile. "You do it when you feel ready."

Harry smiled back in return, realizing how much Daphne was proving to be a good friend. Since Fred and George have already seen some clues regarding his abusive life with the Dursleys, Harry felt that maybe he should tell them about it first. Harry knew giving Ron the full scoop was now out of the question, since his date was Daphne. Ron despised any Slytherin student, no matter how friendly they seemed while Harry realized that there were some who weren't jerks. It was people like Malfoy who gave Slytherin House the bad rap. Harry also decided to ask Neville a little more about the most ancient and most noble houses later, but for now, he wanted to enjoy himself and his time with Daphne at the Valentine's Ball.

(Scene break)

Ron angrily made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, still outraged at Harry for being friendly with 'a filthy snake.' Now he 'needed' to wait for Harry to get back from the ball before 'confronting' him. Ron also decided to confront Hermione for going with Oliver Wood once she made it back as well, since the jealous redhead believed Hermione was his (much like how Ginny believed Harry was her's). Meanwhile, the Valentine's Ball came to an end (it was 6:00 PM). Harry offered to escort Daphne back to the dungeons of Slytherin.

"You can escort me part of the way, Harry," said Daphne. "But it would be too risky for you to enter Slytherin territory because of that fruitless rivalry."

"Well, okay," said Harry, as he and Daphne walked down the corridors, arm in arm. "Although there is a part of me that wishes to rewind time because I e-e-enjoyed d-d-dancing with y-y-you, ton-n-night!"

"And I enjoyed dancing with you too, Harry!" said Daphne, as she and Harry started blushing (their cheeks turned red).

Daphne showed Harry the way to the Slytherin dungeons and once they made it to the top of the stairs descending to the corridor where the Slytherin common room was located, Harry and Daphne stopped.

"This is the furthest you can go, Harry," said Daphne. "For your safety."

"I understand," said Harry. "But do be careful. If my intuition is correct, Malfoy may still try anything to get his hands on you. I know he's bound to be mad."

"True, but he's nothing I can't handle," assured Daphne. "I've got ways of keeping Malfoy at bay."

"Okay," said Harry. "Thank you for talking me into changing my mind about skipping the Valentine's Ball."

"And thank you for allowing me to be your date, Harry." said Daphne.

Then she gave him a hug to prove her appreciation. Naturally, Harry flinched due to his life with the Dursleys. Daphne noticed, but otherwise didn't say anything (not wanting to risk ruining her chance of being a good friend to Harry). But Harry managed to hug Daphne back, in spite of his initial reluctance.

'This is also new to me,' thought Harry in utter surprise. 'It's like no matter how hard I tried, my so-called relatives never accepted me. Dudley gets it all, no matter what while I'm flat-out ignored!'

Once they finished hugging each other, Daphne turned around to go back to the Slytherin common room. Harry kept watch until she was no longer in sight, then he turned around and began walking back to Gryffindor Tower. Upon giving the fat lady the password, she opened the entrance to let Harry through. Sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace was none other than Ron Weasley and once he spotted Harry, he gave him a glare.

"What in the hell were you doing?" shouted Ron angrily. "Didn't it _even_ occur to you that that was a Slytherin snake you went to the Valentine's Ball with? Didn't you _even_ notice that Ginny had been trying to fight tears when you claimed that you weren't going?"

"I ended up changing my mind, Ronald," said Harry. "Ginny only see's me as the Boy-Who-Lived, not the real me."

"Well, she wanted you to ask her to be your date." said Ron, seething with anger.

"Aren't you even aware of the fact that you can't always get what you want?" asked Harry, trying to keep his temper in check. "At least Daphne knows that while Malfoy remains oblivious to that phrase!"

"That snake is corrupting you, Harry," said Ron, jumping to conclusions. "They can't be trusted and you should know that!"

"Ron, you're being highly irrational," snapped Harry. "Not all Slytherins are like Malfoy and Daphne had been proving that!"

"Ha," said Ron. "Big disguise, Harry. You'll see that she's secretly manipulating you, just wait."

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron's attitude, realizing that he was right in thinking that Ron wasn't going to trust any Slytherin. This also made Harry realize that Ron may not be a genuine friend, otherwise he would've given Daphne a chance. Back in the corridor leading to the Slytherin common room, Daphne reached the stone wall that guarded the entrance and gave it the password, making the wall move to allow Daphne access. Despite her efforts to be aware of her surroundings, Daphne was still 'confronted' by Draco as soon as she entered.

"Do you care to explain to me _why_ you were Potter's date, Daphne?" barked Draco, his arms folded across his chest.

"No, I don't care," Daphne retorted. "It isn't your concern who I went with!"

"Do I need to remind you that we're under contract to eventually get married?" asked Draco in a no-nonsense voice.

"No," snapped Daphne. "I know why you wanna be married to me! I'm not stupid, you know!"

Draco raised a hand to slap Daphne across the face, only to get one from her. This staggered Draco, but it wasn't enough to make him back off.

"Now now, Daphne," said Draco, trying to keep the pain from his stinging cheek concealed. "That's no way to behave, nor is that any way to treat your future husband."

"If you try that again," warned Daphne, giving Draco a nasty glare. "You won't get off so easy."

The Malfoy scion ignored the warning and tried to smack Daphne across the face again. This time, she punched Draco in the nose, and then punched his stomach for good measure. Getting punched in the nose made Draco squeeze his eyes shut tightly, as stars began dancing in his vision. He had to reach out with his hands to find a handkerchief, so he could lean back and pinch his nostrils with it to try and stop the bleeding.

"Why don't you go with Parkinson," Daphne suggested. "She's the one who has the hots for you!"

Then she walked into the girls dormitory and over to where the second year girls' bedrooms were located. Once she made it to her room, Daphne cast a privacy charm on the door and then charmed the door to lock it, so no one would try to barge in on her. Then she sat down at her desk, got out some parchment and started writing a letter to her dad. When it was eventually finished, it read:

 _Hi daddy,_

 _My time at the Valentine's Ball with Harry went pretty well. There were alot of whispers and murmurs, most of them coming from other girls. Harry even escorted me to the stairs leading to the Slytherin dungeons, but when I gave him a hug to show him how much I appreciated going with him, he flinched. He was reluctant to return the hug, but he eventually did. Something told me that his flinching and reluctance meant that his life outside of school isn't a happy one, and he kind of implied it when he said it was irony compared to Dumbledore's claim that Harry would be safe away from the wizarding world. While I have this hunch that Harry's life outside of school isn't a happy one, I just hope I'm wrong. What are your thoughts on this matter, daddy? Hope to hear from you soon._

 _Love,_

 _Daphne_

She folded up the letter and put it back on her desk. She wanted to have it sent right away, but curfew was getting close. So she went into her bathroom and filled up the hot tub, so she could have a nice, hot bath before bed. It helped her relax and thus, made it easier to fall asleep. As she laid there in the tub, she closed her eyes and began revisiting the memory of her time with Harry at the Valentine's Ball. Her eyes suddenly opened again as she felt a tear shedding and flowing down her face. Daphne was relieved that she was in private because it would've been trouble if somebody like Malfoy saw that she was crying for Harry. All this brought up different questions in her mind.

'Does Harry face abuse from his guardians?' thought Daphne, as something else clicked in her brain. 'Do they hit, punch and/or kick him in any way possible? Was that what Harry's flinching implied?'

Daphne didn't like the thought of that. It was scaring her to think why Harry would get abused. This also made her realize that Dumbledore may not be the wizard who alot of people thought.

 _To be continued!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: As usual, all I own is this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Three**

Daphne woke up the next morning, somewhat groggy. She didn't sleep well last night due to the questions that kept popping up in her mind. She knew that she couldn't get the letter sent to her dad right now because it was Monday. Daphne knew that she had to wait until classes ended for the day before going to the owlery. She was also debating on whether she could eat breakfast or not, since the thought of Harry having been abused for much of his life was making her sick to her stomach. Daphne was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Upon answering it, Daphne saw her best friend, Tracey Davis.

"Hey Daph," greeted Tracey. "Are you ready to head to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

"I'm not entirely sure if I can eat any," stated Daphne. "I'm feeling sick to my stomach, Trace."

"How come?" asked Tracey.

"Let's talk about it in my room." said Daphne.

So Tracey walked in, then Daphne cast some privacy wards and a locking charm on the door. Once that was done, Daphne sat down on her bed while Tracey sat down on the chair in front of Daphne's desk.

"So Daph, what's got you feeling sick to your stomach?" asked Tracey.

"Well," Daphne started explaining. "It's sort of what Harry said at the Valentine's Ball. I told him about Dumbledore declaring himself his magical guardian and that he placed Harry elsewhere, even though many magical families have been begging Dumbledore into saying otherwise. Then Harry mentioned that him being safe away from the wizarding world was irony, but I didn't ask why that was because I didn't wanna ruin any chance of a good friendship with him."

"That _does_ sound pretty suspicious," agreed Tracey. "Harry despising living in the muggle world, that is."

"I wrote a letter to my dad last night," said Daphne. "Telling him about my suspicions of Harry's life outside of school. Then I asked him what his thoughts were on that matter. I didn't get it sent yet since we have classes to go to, so I'll have to wait until lessons end for the day before I can send the letter."

"I see," said Tracey. "Maybe there's a possibility you can talk to your parents about inviting Harry over sometime during the summer holidays."

"I'll see what can be done," said Daphne. "I just have to hope he doesn't turn down the offer, believing it to be a trick."

Tracey patted her best friend's shoulders in a comforting manner. So they started getting ready to head to the Great Hall for breakfast. Meanwhile in the Gryffindor common room, Fred and George spotted Harry sitting on the couch, fidgeting.

"Yo Harry, are you alright?" asked the twins with concern.

"I hope so," said Harry. "C-Can we find someplace private before I tell you what's got me bothered?"

"Sure, Harry." the twins chorused.

So they found a private room in the common room. They went in, where the twins cast some privacy wards and locking charms on the door to ensure that nobody would try to barge in on them. Once they felt certain that it was safe to talk, Harry began telling Fred and George what had him bothered.

"I never really told anybody about what I'm about to tell you," said Harry. "But since you've seen those bars on my bedroom window at the Dursleys, it's only fair I tell you. I'd also tell Ron, but he was mad that Daphne was my date for the Valentine's Ball, so it'd seem to be a mistake."

"Yes, but that's Ickle Ronnykins' problem," said the twins. "But we did start getting suspicious once we saw the bars on your window. It got us thinking that your home life, if one could call it that, hasn't been a good one."

"Well, it's m-much w-w-worse th-than what you m-may have tho-ought," stated Harry nervously. "For a-as long as I can remember, I've been treated like a burden, a disease, a slave and a black sheep. Anytime something went wrong, I was always blamed for it. It didn't matter if it was something my cousin Dudley started and it never mattered how minor the infraction was. Anytime Dudley would start something, he always lied and exaggerated it all to ensure I'd get unjust punishments, in the form of beatings from my uncle while my aunt would take to verbal and emotional abuse."

"Oh Merlin!" exclaimed Fred and George.

"And my cousin always had a gang of bullies with him, everywhere they went," said Harry. "They were the reason I had no friends before Hogwarts. They made sure of that to the extreme because Dudley would claim that freaks don't deserve happiness."

"That was them, in truth," said the twins. "They are the real freaks, but they never saw it that way."

"There were at least five occasions where a teacher at my primary school tried to help," Harry continued. "But they were quickly blacklisted because my uncle would more than likely bribe the headmistress to keep quiet, with my cousin and his gang sticking their tongues out at me since that meant that they escaped punishment. I was given even more brutal beatings for 'tattling' and 'making Dudley and his gang look bad.' Other punishments I was also subject to included being locked in that cupboard under the stairs for like a week or so. Shortly before getting my Hogwarts acceptance letters, I had been locked up in the cupboard for five weeks without much water or _any_ food. I was also 'punished' with starvation quite often while my cousin got to eat as much as he pleased. That was why he's so fat while I'm stick-skinny."

"Those relatives of yours are crazy," said Fred and George. "Not to mention that they're also cowards. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, they just bribe their way out of trouble."

"My uncle's sister is just as bad if not worse," stated Harry. "She has a bulldog named Ripper, who always tags along with Aunt Marge anytime she came to visit. One time at my cousin's tenth birthday, which was the year before I started Hogwarts, I accidentally stepped on Ripper's paw, but he reacted so violently that it frightened me. He chased me out into the backyard and up a tree, making sure I couldn't climb back down. To make that worse, neither Aunt Marge, Aunt Petunia nor Uncle Vernon called the dog off. Ripper kept an eye on me until sometime past midnight, when he was finally called off."

"They really let a dog terrorize you, Harry?" the twins replied in utter shock, with widened eyes.

"Yes," said Harry sadly. "Aunt Marge claimed that Ripper terrorizing me was a punishment, despite my protests that it was only an accident. But did they care? No, they just allowed it as if it wasn't a big deal. Marge even ordered me to get down from the tree, with my aunt and uncle openly supporting it. That was when I screamed for help much louder, which only got me sprayed with water from their garden hose. Dudley even waddled his way over to throw punches at me and by instinct, I started kicking him like crazy. That only got me beat with a belt even more. That was by far the worst kind of treatment I ever received, making my five weeks in the cupboard and the bars on my window a bit of a joke."

Fred and George were rendered speechless and they felt as though their body stiffened. It was too frightening to imagine all that and it made them want to throw up. They remembered when they and Ron went to rescue Harry and when they all came back, their mother wasn't happy. The twins also wondered if their mother ever heard Ron correctly when he mentioned Harry's starvation and having bars on his window. Something about that also made the twins realize that Ron was faking his friendship with Harry. They remembered when Ron mentioned to Harry that he cared about him, they saw that Ron had crossed fingers behind his back (making sure Harry never saw it). They decided that they needed to let their mother know about how bad Harry's treatment at the Dursleys was, but writing to her would have to be done after lessons ended for the day. Harry felt some of the weight having been lifted off his shoulders, but he knew that coming clean to his real friends was inevitable. Now he needed to find some way of preparing for that hard task. Harry, Fred and George found themselves no longer hungry, so they stayed in the common room while the rest of their fellow Gryffindor lions went to breakfast.

(Scene break)

In the Great Hall, Daphne and Tracey saw the other Gryffindors coming in. They never saw Harry entering the Great Hall, which started worrying Daphne more and more. Up at the staff table, Professors McGonagall and Snape were surprised to see that Harry didn't make it for breakfast. In fact, the Weasley twins were also absent, making the deputy headmistress wonder what was going on, while Dumbledore was relieved inwardly that Harry was steering clear of the student population (but otherwise, he looked around, acting all concerned to make sure none of the teachers would get suspicious).

'As long as Harry isn't seen near Miss Greengrass especially,' thought Albus. 'The Greater Good plan is ensured to succeed. Harry needs to be with someone light, not neutral.'

All too soon, breakfast was over and all the students left to go back to their respective common rooms to get their stuff. Then they started going to their respective lessons while the teachers were returning to their respective classrooms. Harry and his fellow second year Gryffindors had transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. Neville sat by Harry, knowing that the raven haired boy had that fight with Ron last night. Hermione ended up sitting next to Ron (who was still mad that Harry went to the Valentine's Ball with a 'filthy snake').

"Hermione, you've got to talk to Harry," said Ron. "He's conflicted at the moment. He didn't even bother to notice that Ginny burst into tears when he went with that…"

"Oh stop it, Ronald," snapped Hermione. "You know Harry would never think of dating…"

"He's the only one for her," said Ron. "Ginny keeps trying to get Harry to notice her, but he _just_ ignores it."

"Yes, I'm aware of that," said Hermione irritably. "But she won't be getting Harry. She needs to learn that you can't always get what you want."

The arguing had to stop when Professor McGonagall walked out of her office to start today's Transfiguration lessons. Without Ron sitting next to him, Harry was able to concentrate on the lessons much more easier. He couldn't understand why he even befriended Ron in the first place, since he had a terrible work ethic.

Down in the potions classroom, the second year Slytherins were sharing with the Hufflepuffs. Due to being so distracted by her thoughts (and because her lack of decent sleep), Daphne was struggling to stay awake in class. Tracey helping out had some partial effect, but Daphne would eventually begin struggling some again. Professor Snape was surprised by that, knowing that Daphne was never one to be known for struggling. It _did_ make the potions master curious to know why Daphne was feeling off today, compared to the Valentine's Ball when she was all ecstatic to be dancing with Harry.

'I'll need to speak with Miss Greengrass after lessons end for the day,' thought Professor Snape, getting more and more curious. 'This is just so… not her usual self!'

By coincidence, Professor McGonagall could also tell that Harry was feeling off today, too. It wasn't just Harry sitting by Neville instead of Ron, but he was a bit shaky and trembly.

'What's up with Mr. Potter?' thought the head of Gryffindor House. 'He appears to be nervous for some reason! Perhaps I'd better talk to him after lessons are done.'

(Scene break)

After lessons ended for the day, Daphne made a beeline for the owlery, so she could get her letter delivered to her father. She kept it in her pocket so she wouldn't have to worry about possibly running back and forth, and also to avoid Draco. Once she got an owl to deliver the letter, Daphne started walking back to the castle (making sure to be aware of her surroundings, so the Malfoy scion wouldn't try to sneak up on her, undetected). As she continued walking back to the school, she felt a pair of hands grabbing her shoulders. Believing it to have been Draco, Daphne turned around in retaliation. Then she realized it was her sister, Astoria (who was a first year in Ravenclaw), allowing Daphne to blow a sigh of relief.

"Geez, Tori," said Daphne, her heart still pounding. "I thought it was Malfoy at first. Don't do that!"

"Sorry, sis," Tori apologized. "I was just wondering why you didn't seem at all like your usual self during breakfast."

"Too much on my mind," stated Daphne. "As much as I wanna tell you, I don't think I can. I don't wanna risk ruining a good friendship with Harry."

"He didn't even make it for breakfast," Tori revealed. "In fact, the Weasley twins were strangely absent as well."

"The Weasley twins didn't make it for breakfast?" said Daphne, surprised. "That _is_ pretty strange, I do wonder why!"

"Maybe it had something to do with why Harry never entered the Great Hall," Tori guessed. "Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were perplexed, they kept looking around and at the double doors from time to time. But they still didn't see Harry nor the Weasley twins make it down for breakfast. I wasn't sure if you realized that."

"Did they ever go to lessons?" asked Daphne.

"I believe so," said Tori. "Anyway, Professor Snape asked me to inform you that he wishes to speak with you."

"Okaayyyyy," said Daphne nervously. "I-I-I'll h-head to h-h-his c-clas-s-s-s-srooom!"

"Well, see ya later, sis." said Tori.

"Alright, bye Tori." said Daphne.

As Tori skipped away, Daphne started reporting to Snape's classroom. She was tensing up even more, concerned that she may possibly break Harry's trust. This made her walk all stiff with nervousness, making the journey to her head of house's classroom difficult. Daphne was even more cautious in checking her surroundings, not wanting Draco to find her and stick his nose where it shouldn't be. Otherwise, he would just keep nagging her to tell him what was going on. She eventually made it back to the entrance, but Daphne was still all tense. She had no idea what to say to Professor Snape or why he needed to speak with her. It was making her more and more tense the closer she got to the corridor where the potions classroom was located, so she needed to stop for a minute to think things over.

'Well, I hope Harry won't be mad at me, at least terribly mad,' thought Daphne with worry. 'Even if he _does_ get a little mad, I gotta prove to him how much he now means to me. After all, a _real_ friend cares about one another.'

So she took a deep breath and continued walking to her head of house's classroom. It seemed as though it was further away. Nerves can do that to you when you're so anxious about something bothering you. Daphne started mentally telling herself to get it over with, allowing her to ease up some. It was time to face the inevitable.

 _To be continued!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: As usual, all I own is this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Four**

Daphne eventually made it to the door of her head of house's classroom. She tried knocking, but her nervousness made it difficult to proceed because she kept feeling her arm stiffen. After taking another deep breath, Daphne finally knocked on the door.

"Come in!" called Professor Snape.

With her legs trembling, Daphne opened the door and walked in. She didn't have any idea whether Professor Snape would tell her off for associating with Harry or if he was going to accept it. He never confronted her over the matter at the Valentine's Ball, but that didn't mean that he was happy about it. Once she made it to the front of Snape's desk, Daphne sat down and awaited what her head of house wanted to talk to her about.

"Did you want to see me, professor?" asked Daphne in an uneasy voice.

"Yes, Miss Greengrass," assured Professor Snape. "I was curious to know why you were struggling. I didn't see you at all during breakfast and during class, you looked as though you had trouble staying awake."

"Alot has been on my mind, professor," said Daphne, wondering where to start. "Something Harry told me yesterday made me suspicious."

"What exactly did Mr. Potter say?" asked the potions teacher, who started getting suspicious.

"Well," said Daphne. "I told him that a number of families wanted to take him under their wing, which Dumbledore refused by claiming that Harry would be safer in the muggle world. That was when Harry revealed that Dumbledore's claims were irony."

Professor Snape's eyes widened in shock, making him wonder if Dumbledore had actually put any real thought into Harry's well being. All this time, the potions master thought that Mr. Potter was just as arrogant and spoiled like his own father. If all this really _was_ irony, then Mr. Potter may not really be like his father.

'This is all making me realize that looks can be deceiving,' thought Snape. 'What if all this also means that Mr. Potter despises his fame? If she hasn't been told yet, I'll need to inform Minerva as soon as possible.'

"Did Mr. Potter give you any details regarding… why Dumbledore's claims were irony?" asked Professor Snape.

"No sir," said Daphne. "I felt it was better to let him talk about that when he believed he was ready to."

"I see," said Professor Snape. "Was that the reason Mr. Potter didn't make it for breakfast this morning?"

"I believe so," said Daphne. "But I didn't see him all that much today, so I have no way to prove it."

"I understand, Miss Greengrass," assured Professor Snape. "You're dismissed, fifteen points for bringing me some useful information."

"Thank you, professor." said Daphne.

Then she got up and left the potions classroom. A few minutes later, Professor Snape got up and headed off to find Professor McGonagall. The deputy headmistress was, at the moment looking for Harry (as well as Fred and George). The students in discussion were back in Gryffindor Tower, trying to avoid being asked questions regarding their absences at breakfast. Harry was still preparing for the inevitable in coming clean to his _real_ friends about his abusive life with the Dursleys. Fred and George refused to tell anybody why they weren't at breakfast, since they didn't want to break Harry's trust. The entrance opened up and Professor McGonagall walked in.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasleys, would you three follow me to my office, please?" asked the head of Gryffindor House.

Harry, Fred and George nodded their heads as they got up and left Gryffindor Tower with the deputy headmistress. The three Gryffindors were wondering what their head of house needed and why. Professor McGonagall didn't say anything while they were all walking to her classroom, making Harry think that he must've done something wrong, yet again. True, he wanted his relatives to face justice but no matter what, they always got away with their crimes. On the way, they crossed paths with Professor Snape.

"Minerva," said the potions master. "I need to speak with you."

"If it has something to do with the absences of these three," said Professor McGonagall, as she pointed to Harry, Fred and George. "Why don't you follow us to my office."

So they continued on to the transfiguration classroom. Once they made it to Professor McGonagall's office, she and Professor Snape cast privacy wards and locking charms on the door while Harry, Fred and George sat down in chairs in front of McGonagall's desk. Harry felt his body tense up when his head of house sat down on her chair behind her desk while Professor Snape stood close by.

"Did we do something wrong, professor?" the twins asked.

"No, Mr. Weasleys, neither you nor Mr. Potter are in trouble," assured Professor McGonagall. "We were just wondering why you three weren't at breakfast this morning?"

"It's something to do with why Harry didn't go, either," said the twins. "We think Harry should explain it."

"So, why were you and the Weasley twins absent at breakfast, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Well, I-I-I was telling them… about… what happened b-b-before the start of last ye-ear." said Harry, getting scared.

"What happened before you came to Hogwarts?" asked Professor McGonagall.

She and the twins gave Harry an encouraging nod. Snape realized that Daphne may have been right after all. Harry was terrified that his uncle would bribe his way out of trouble for the umpteenth time. His arms and fingers began twitching in fright, while his legs trembled. Fred and George patted Harry on the shoulders in a comforting manner.

"Well, here goes," said Harry, trying his best not to be afraid. "For as long as I can remember, I was treated like a burden, a disease, a black sheep, and a slave. When I turned four, my aunt decided that that was the best time for me to start 'earning my keep,' thus she and my uncle forced me to do all the chores while my cousin, Dudley was free to do whatever he wanted. I didn't know my own name until I was four, that was when my sitter, Mrs. Figg told me. My relatives always called me 'boy' or 'freak,' no matter what. All the chores I'd been forced to do was unreasonable because the list I got was really long and nearly i-impossible to complete, and I was _always_ given a time limit for that."

"Did that mean that some of them were unsuitable for children?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"It seemed to be," said Harry. "But I was always forbidden to ask questions. If I did, I'd get beatings from my uncle. It was like no matter how hard I tried, they never accepted me. Even when I would cook them breakfast, I never got any praise for it, not even a thank you. They'd just pitch me out into the hall while they ate in a gloating manner, hardly leaving me any scraps. In primary school, I was all alone and friendless because Dudley and his gang scared off any kid by threatening to beat them up if they tried to befriend me, while also claiming that freaks don't deserve happiness. That was also their reason for giving me Dudley's hand-me-downs, despite them being several sizes too big for me. Anytime I tried explaining that I needed clothes, I'd get beat with a belt and told to quit being ungrateful."

"How were your cousin and his friends able to scare off any kid?" asked the deputy headmistress.

"Well, they're big and fat," said Harry. "Dudley happens to be the biggest and the fattest, he would eat insanely huge amounts of junk food and drink excessive amounts of soft drinks. In the muggle world, soft drinks are also called soda pop. As Dudley and his gang were all big and fat, they would use that to their advantage to intimidate any kid, especially if any tried to approach and befriend me. That was also the reason why I was always the last to be chosen in gym class because the other kids were too terrified of my cousin and his gang. It always made me wonder why they didn't realize that bigger numbers had a huge advantage over five, much bigger kids."

"Did you try getting any help, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Snape.

"Yes, but th-that always backfired on me," said Harry. "The teachers had this complaint box in their classrooms, something I tried using at least three times. But anytime Dudley and his gang were called up to the headmistress's office, they always got off scot free because my uncle would bribe the headmistress into keeping quiet. I was able to figure it out because Dudley and his gang stuck their tongues out at me while I was given unjust punishments, and any teacher who tried to help me got blacklisted. My uncle works as a director at a firm called Grunnings, which is a drill manufacturing company. He gets paid good money, which allows him to bribe anybody who gets suspicious of anything regarding me. At least two teachers witnessed Dudley and his gang bullying me, but even they got blacklisted when my uncle bribed the headmistress for the umpteenth time. Anytime I'd go back 'home,' I was given unrelenting beatings and forced to spend quite a bit of time in the cupboard under the stairs, the longest I'd spent in it was five weeks."

"They really forced you to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs?!" asked Professor McGonagall, getting outraged.

"Yes, while Dudley initially got two bedrooms," said Harry. "I remember getting my acceptance letters. I was so excited to get away from my relatives that I was stupid enough to try reading it in front of them. Dudley snatched it out of my hand and gave it to my uncle, ignoring my orders to give it back to me. I was given my cousin's second bedroom, which I immediately realized that it wasn't out of kindness. It was because they were fearing retribution. The worst treatment I received was when my uncle's sister came to visit for Dudley's tenth birthday, where I accidentally stepped on her dog Ripper's paw. The dog chased me out into the backyard and up a tree. But they all just laughed at my predicament instead of helping, even when I cried for mercy. Marge even told me to get down from the tree so Ripper could maul me to death, and even Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon supported that. Dudley even came to punch me until I let go just for yelling for help in a loud enough voice for the neighbors to hear, but I ended up kicking his face repeatedly in self defence. I still got beat for doing so."

"That was a form of attempted murder, Mr. Potter, not _just_ child endangerment," stated Professor McGonagall. "Your uncle, aunt and uncle's sister are guilty of that."

"I see," said Harry. "When Hagrid came to give me my acceptance letter personally, he was shocked by my genuine confusion. Uncle Vernon told him that I wasn't to come here because he claimed that when he and Aunt Petunia took me that they would put a stop to magic, with my uncle labels as funny business. That was when Aunt Petunia started telling me a little bit about what happened to my mum and how she'd gotten herself blown up, resulting in my relatives having to 'look after me.' I was even more shocked when Hagrid mentioned the real cause of my parents deaths because I was told that they had died in a car crash."

"The Dursleys really lied to you about that?" asked Professor McGonagall and Snape in unison.

"Uh huh," said Harry. "On my twelfth birthday, my relatives were hosting a dinner party with a rich builder and his wife. I was ordered to stay in my room, make no noise and pretend that I didn't exist. But then a house elf came to visit me somehow. The house elf's name is Dobby and he warned me not to come back here because of some terrible plot that he couldn't reveal. He also had been stopping my letters from coming to me to convince me not to come back. In another attempt to keep me from coming back, he smashed my aunt's pudding with a hover charm and framed me for it. But the ministry believed me to have done it and sent me a warning letter not to use magic outside of school. But my relatives took advantage of that by locking me in my room, with the addition of my uncle paying a man to fit bars over the window and my uncle padlocking my door heavily and fitting a cat flap next to my bedroom door. The only times I had been let out was for me to use the bathroom in the morning and in the evening, other than that, I was locked in my room around the clock. Even after three days, they showed no signs of relenting."

"That's also false imprisonment," said Professor McGonagall. "Those other so called punishments you received were considered child abuse. How did you get yourself out of that predicament?"

"That's where we came in, professor," the twins confessed. "There were times during the summer holidays where we all wondered if Harry got any letters from Ron. When it went on for too long, we tried to think of some solutions on how to check on Harry. Ron suggested using our dad's car, so we dragged him with us since it was _his_ idea. Then we took a risk and drove it to Little Whinging to rescue Harry because we were terrified that Harry might've been killed or seriously hurt. Ron didn't seem to be genuinely concerned at all while we were rescuing Harry, but he still helped. It wasn't until after we made it back home when we realized that we were right."

"Did that also mean that it was Mr. Ronald Weasley's idea to fly that car to the castle on September 1st?" asked Professor McGonagall, turning her attention back to Harry.

"Y-Y-Yes," said Harry. "Although I _did_ suggest that he and I wait by the car when we couldn't make it onto the train. That was when Ron claimed that his parents didn't need the car and that they could just apparate back to their house. Ron even claimed that flying the car here wasn't a big deal because it was emergency. That was when I mistakenly believed that Ron knew what he was doing."

Professor McGonagall had been writing notes down on some parchment as Harry was talking. Professor Snape was shocked to hear the full extent of Harry's treatment at the Dursleys. What also made him suspicious was the fact that a house elf went over to a muggle neighborhood.

"Mr. Potter," said Professor Snape. "The house elf who visited you belongs to the Malfoys."

"Really?!" said Harry in a shocked voice.

"Yes," said Professor Snape. "I've been to Malfoy Manor a number of times. That's how I know."

"This makes me wonder if the Malfoys, or at least Lucius might have something to do with the petrifying of the few students and Filch's cat." said Professor McGonagall, getting suspicious.

"It's possible," Snape speculated. "Madam Bones will need to be notified of this immediately."

So he left to go back to his office to get his errand taken care of. Professor McGonagall finished writing the notes down and put them in a drawer (believing they'd be safer there until the ministry can possibly make it to the castle). Harry felt some weight lifting off of his shoulders when he told his head of house and the potions master about his treatment at the Dursleys.

"You three are dismissed," said Professor McGonagall to Harry, Fred and George. "I'll have to tell Professor Dumbledore this. If you see Mr. Ronald Weasley, would you tell him to report to my office?"

"Yes ma'am." said the three Gryffindors.

So they left to let their head of house deal with the headmaster. Now Harry, Fred and George were wondering how they were going to confront Ron. When they returned to Gryffindor Tower, they saw that Ron was sitting on the couch (with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, along with Hermione, Neville and Lee surrounding him), looking all terrified.

"You won't believe what we heard Ronald complaining about," said Hermione once she spotted Harry, Fred and George walking in. Then she turned to Harry. "It was about how he was unable to blame you for flying that car to school that day."

"Ronald's big mouth got him in hot water," said Oliver. "So we were keeping watch over him until you got back."

"Y-Y-You g-g-guys are making a big mistake," said Ron. "That snake was corrupting Harry."

"There you go again, Ronald," said Hermione with contempt in her voice. "Jumping to your stupid conclusions."

"Professor McGonagall needs to speak with you, Ickle Ronnykins." said the twins.

So they picked their brother up and onto his feet, ignoring Ron's ranting and protests to let him do it. Then they began escorting him to their head of house's office. Harry found it hard to believe that Ron would let his jealousy do that. Now he needed to start thinking about letting his other friends know why he and the twins were in McGonagall's office. But he didn't want to do it when dinner time was so close to approaching, as that could make them lose their appetite.

'I do wonder if this will get Ron expelled,' thought Harry. 'Backstabbing me all this time and not having a care in the world. Trying to blame me for flying his dad's car even though it was all his idea? He won't be getting any forgiveness from me for that, and for calling Daphne a filthy snake in the grass. Ronald is just way too selfish.'

"Ronald is pretty much screwed." stated Lee.

"Faking a friendship with Harry is pretty much unforgivable," said Neville. "If he gets another howler, I wonder what it'll say."

This made Harry and his real friends laugh at the thought. If Ron didn't get expelled, he'd certainly be getting detention for the rest of the year, with the addition of getting a howler. All they could do was wait until morning at breakfast to find out.

 _To be continued!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: As mentioned, all I own is this fanfic. The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling. No copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Five**

It took Fred and George at least fifteen minutes to escort their brother to McGonagall's office. Ron was putting up a fight in trying to free himself, but the twins tightened their grip. They didn't like how Ron wasn't willing to take responsibility for his actions and they rolled their eyes in exasperation to show it to Ron.

"Now come on, guys," Ron pleaded pathetically. "Professor McGonagall doesn't have to know about this, right?"

"Yes, she does!" snapped the twins. "How could you be so selfish to blame your supposed best friend for something that was all your idea?!"

"Well, Harry kind of suggested using the car." Ron tried defending his actions.

"That wasn't what he said," growled the twins. "Harry just suggested that you and him wait by dad's car when you missed the train!"

"You guys are defending the wrong guy," Ron claimed. "You're supposed to be defending your brother, not the stupid attention seeker."

"You'd better watch it, Ronald!" warned the twins in dangerous voices.

"Why?" said Ron foolishly. "He has to have it all, the fame, the money, the girls, everything. How could he be stupid as to make friends with a Slytherin snake? Ginny's been crying her eyes out most of the time because of that stupid Ice Queen!"

"You know Harry would never think of dating Ginevra," yelled the twins irritably. "Since you're being too stupid to realize it, Harry's fame as the Boy-Who-Lived is a constant reminder for him that he no longer has his parents. He'd be willing to give his fame up if it meant that he could have his parents back. If you don't keep your big mouth shut, you'll just make this worse!"

Ron reluctantly stopped as he and his twin brothers entered McGonagall's office to wait for their head of house to return. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had stomped her way over to the headmaster's office (with the other students clearing the way in fright along the way). The angry deputy headmistress just barged her way into Dumbledore's office, making him jump in in surprise.

"Ah, Minerva," greeted Albus. "I'm afraid nows not the…"

"This can't wait, Albus," snapped Minerva. "You can't continue this any longer!"

"Continue what?" asked Albus, trying to play dumb.

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT, ALBUS!" Minerva screamed in Albus' face, once she closed the door and cast a silence charm on it. "I TOLD YOU WHAT KIND OF MUGGLES THE DURSLEYS WERE, BUT DID YOU LISTEN? NO, YOU JUST WENT WITH YOUR 'ALBUS KNOWS BEST' ATTITUDE OF YOURS! YOU STILL LEFT HARRY ON THE DOORSTEP! THEY ABUSED HIM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! THEY USED HIM AS A SLAVE, A HUMAN PUNCHING BAG, AND THEY DEPRIVED HIM OF ANY DECENT MEALS, FRIENDS AND HAPPINESS! THEY EVEN LIED TO HARRY BY CLAIMING THAT LILY AND JAMES DIED IN A STUPID CAR CRASH! EVERY TIME HARRY TRIED GETTING HELP, IT WOULD ALWAYS BACKFIRE ON HIM AND HE'D GET MORE SO CALLED PUNISHMENTS! THEY EVEN FORCED HARRY INTO SLEEPING IN THAT CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS!"

"Now now, Minerva…" Albus tried to speak, trying to hide his nervousness.

"I STILL HAVE MORE TO TELL," Minerva screamed again, making Albus cower more and more. "HARRY'S UNCLE'S SISTER WAS ALSO JUST AS BAD! HARRY EVEN TOLD ME THAT ONE TIME WHEN SHE VISITED PRIVET DRIVE THAT HE ACCIDENTALLY STEPPED ON HER DOG'S PAW! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT RESULTED IN FOR HARRY, THE DOG CHASED HIM INTO THE BACKYARD AND UP A TREE, UTTERLY TERRIFIED. BUT THE DURSLEYS REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, INSTEAD THEY JUST LAUGHED ABOUT IT! THEY DIDN'T EVEN CARE IF THE DOG MANAGED TO MAUL HARRY TO DEATH! THAT WASN'T JUST CHILD ENDANGERMENT, BUT ALSO ATTEMPTED MURDER! ATTEMPTED MURDER, ALBUS, SO DON'T GO OFF TELLING ME THAT HARRY IS SAFER WITH THOSE WRETCHED MUGGLES! YOU MAKE HIM GO BACK THERE AGAIN AND YOU CAN JUST WATCH ME HAND IN MY RESIGNATION BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES!"

"C-C-Come o-o-o-on, Min…" Albus responded, trying to keep his nervousness concealed.

"YOU KNOW WHAT, ALBUS," Minerva screamed once more. "I'M SO ANGRY WITH YOU THAT I DON'T WANT TO LOOK AT YOU AT THE MOMENT! I NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D BE FINE WITH CHILD ENDANGERMENT OR EVEN ATTEMPTED MURDER, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THIS GREATER GOOD NONSENSE OF YOURS! HARRY NEVER RECEIVED ANY KIND OF LOVE OR AFFECTION, THE DURSLEYS MADE IT CLEAR THAT THEY NEVER WANTED HIM! I'M LEAVING NOW!"

The deputy headmistress angrily turned a heel and walked out of Dumbledore's office. The headmaster had been sweating so profusely that it looked like he needed a second set of robes. That's how frightened he was upon facing his deputy headmistress's wrath. Now Albus was shuddering at the thought that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was bound to get involved. Now Professor McGonagall had to deal with Ron, since his behaviour toward Harry was inexcusable. When she made it back to her classroom, she saw the Weasley twins and their now frightened brother, Ron sitting in front of her desk. As soon as the deputy headmistress sat down on her chair behind her desk, she gave Ron a glare that made him utterly terrified.

"Mr. Weasley, what do you have to say for yourself?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I should've known that Harry would tattle on me." said Ron irritably.

"That wasn't tattling, Mr. Weasley," scolded the head of Gryffindor house. "Your brothers here mentioned something about flying your dad's car to Privet Drive to rescue Mr. Potter being all your idea."

"Well, yeah," Ron grudgingly admitted. "But I didn't even want to go with them, but they made me go anyway."

"Do you really call yourself a good friend, Mr. Weasley?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I d-d-did, but Harry allowed the Ice Queen to corrupt him." Ron jumped to conclusions, yet again.

"Mr. Weasley!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "That remark is _not_ tolerated! Now I insist you answer my question this instant."

"Yes, I do," said Ron. "I keep trying to tell Harry that the Ice Queen may be…"

"Mr. Weasley, what is your problem?" asked Professor McGonagall, getting more and more agitated. "Your attitude is way too irrational, Mr. Potter and Miss Greengrass enjoyed their time at the dance."

"The Ice Queen made Ginny cry," Ron claimed. "Ginny wanted to be Harry's date."

"That comment is out of the question, Mr. Weasley," snapped Professor McGonagall. "Miss Weasley should realize that you can't always get what you want. The world doesn't work that way and you should know that, too! Now, Mr. Potter also revealed that it was _your_ idea to fly your dad's car here when you could've listened to him and waited."

"He had Hedwig with him." Ron tried defending himself.

"But you talked him into going along with your 'better' idea," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "As a pure blood wizard, you should've known better than to assume that your idea was the better one. It also came to my attention that you wanted to blame him for that whole fiasco."

"You should've seen some of our fellow Gryffindors keeping an eye on Ron, professor," said the twins. "When Harry and ourselves made it back to Gryffindor Tower, we saw them surrounding Ron in the common room. That was when Hermione revealed that she heard Ron's ranting about it. The others who heard it included our fellow teammates on the quidditch team, along with Lee and Neville."

"Heh heh," laughed Ron nervously. "I-I-It was a-a-a mistake."

"Too right, it was," said Professor McGonagall sarcastically. "That was no mistake, it was a choice, Mr. Weasley! You did all that on purpose because of your jealousy and selfishness, and don't bother trying to apologize because sorry _will not_ cut it."

"I'm sure Harry will even…" Ron tried speaking up.

"No, Ron," said the twins. "Harry will see that as something unforgivable. If you _really_ cared about him, you would've been by his side. Real friends don't go behind each others' backs like that and betraying them the whole time."

"Your brothers are right, Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall sternly. "Now, you will be spending the rest of the night here, including dinnertime, so don't count on being allowed to return to Gryffindor Tower. You will also be having detention every evening for the rest of the year, which I have yet to decide, so don't go thinking that after a few days that I'll have forgotten. On top of all that, your Hogsmeade privileges next year will be revoked until the start of your fourth year. Have I made myself clear, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron nodded uneasily, but his head of house was still far from finished.

"And," Professor McGonagall went on. "Your parents will be notified of your behaviour. If they also have another suitable punishment for you, I will support it."

Ron nodded again, then Professor McGonagall showed him into her office and into some closet-like room. Ron knew that this was the isolation room (with the heads of houses have one in their respective offices), where students who have misbehaved to a certain degree are to stay in while awaiting punishment or what their detention may be. The twins were dismissed, so they returned to Gryffindor Tower to tell the others what was to become of Ron. The twins saw Harry sitting on the couch while staring into the fire.

"Don't worry, Harry," assured the twins. "Ickle Ronnykins is in so much trouble. Professor McGonagall was beyond outraged."

"Thanks a bunch," said Harry gratefully. "I can't forgive him for what he did. It always seemed like I've been plagued with bad luck, but it seems like it's beginning to turn into good luck."

"You've been like a brother to us, Harry,' said the twins. "The others who were keeping an eye on Ickle Ronnykins, did you tell them yet?"

"No," said Harry. "I didn't want to unwittingly make any of them vomit, as some of the treatment I'd been going through would make them sick to their stomachs. Maybe waiting until the weekend or something would be the better option."

"Or maybe wait until tomorrow when classes end for the day," said the twins. "Since that will be a few hours before dinner."

"Okay," said Harry. "But I know our fellow chasers and Hermione will be in tears when they hear. I've never taken too kindly to seeing any girl cry, especially when Ron's rude comment made Hermione miss the Halloween feast last year, since she was in tears."

The twins patted Harry on the shoulders in a comforting manner. Meanwhile, Daphne made it back to the Slytherin common room and over to her bedroom in the girls' dormitory. She received a letter and had to go to the owlery to get it. Upon making it back to her room, Daphne locked the door with some locking charms and cast a privacy ward, to ensure that she wouldn't be disturbed. Then she opened the letter, which turned out to be from her dad and it said:

 _Hi Daphne,_

 _I'm glad your time with Harry was a good one. It's surprising that alot of other girls were whispering about it. To answer your question, I think that Harry probably does get abused. If his reluctance to return your hug and flinching with physical contact implies it, then it must be true. You do have good gut instincts, but don't pressure him into talking about it. I'll be speaking to Amelia Bones when I get the chance, she'll be able to help. She once told me that she was one of Harry's potential guardians if anything were to happen to Lily and James. If Harry does open up to you about his life outside of Hogwarts, do ask for permission before you tell me. Hope to hear from you soon, Daphne._

 _Love,_

 _Dad_

Daphne realized that she had been right all along, but her dad did have a point. It was best to let Harry open up when he felt ready. Although she figured that out at the Valentine's Day Ball, reminders never hurt. Then she got out some parchment to write a reply to her dad's letter. Once she finished writing the letter, it read:

 _Hi daddy,_

 _I did decide to let Harry talk about his life when he feels ready. Professor Snape spoke with me earlier regarding Harry's absence at breakfast. I only told him of my suspicions, which I can only hope that Harry doesn't get mad at me for. But something did tell me that if I really cared about Harry, I'd get him some help like a real friend should, even if he didn't ask for it. I also told Tracey about my suspicions, and she suggested that Harry should be invited over sometime during the summer holidays. Is it possible that Harry can come over? I think it would mean a whole lot to him if he becomes familiar with what it's like to have a loving and caring family. If you and mum do say yes, should I tell Harry right away or should I wait a little bit and maybe surprise him? Hope to hear from you soon, daddy._

 _Love,_

 _Daphne_

Daphne folded her letter up and put it back on her desk, so she could pocket it in her robes and take it to the owlery after tomorrow's lesson end. Upon laying down on her bed (on her stomach), Daphne felt tears welling up again, so she buried her face into her arms. She was still concerned that she might be breaking Harry's trust and the thought was worrying her.

Meanwhile at the Ministry of Magic, a woman in black robes and wearing a monocle over one eye was working when she got a letter. The owl tapped on the window, so the woman opened it and let the owl in. After relieving it of it's burden, she fed the owl some treats before it took off. Then she unfolded the letter, which said:

 _Amelia,_

 _Something doesn't seem right regarding Harry Potter. He just told Minerva and myself about his abusive relatives. Harry mentioned how they'd beat him, starve him, lock him in a cupboard, denied him friends and happiness, one case where they didn't care if he was killed. Harry also mentioned that the Malfoys house elf, Dobby visited him over the summer holidays, warning Harry not come back to Hogwarts this year, due to some plot that he never specified. Harry also mentioned that he wasn't the one who used a hover charm, but Dobby, in an attempt to make sure Harry wouldn't return for his second year, framed him for doing so. Minerva had also written some notes down while Harry explained what his life had really been like._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Severus Snape_

The woman named Amelia was shocked to learn of Harry's abusive lifestyle. She remembered Albus claiming that Harry wouldn't be safe in the wizarding world, despite her assurance that he'd be fine. Amelia was also shocked to realize that Severus was actually helping Harry out. But something _did_ make her suspicious and that was when the Malfoys' house elf visited Harry over the summer holidays. Is Lucius planning to do something at the school, if he hadn't started yet? Amelia remembered getting a few letters from her niece, Susan. She explained what all had been going on at Hogwarts, such as a couple students at least getting petrified. Amelia now realized that Hogwarts needed to be investigated, but first she needed to ask Lucius why his house elf visited somebody to warn that person of whatever this terrible plot was.

'Hopefully, this'll get Lucius in trouble,' thought Amelia. 'He must be indirectly involved with this scheme at Hogwarts. If that turns out to be the case, what are his motives for doing so?'

Amelia realized that this wasn't going to be easy, but it needed to be done. She never believed Lucius' whole 'I was imperiused' claim. She knew that he was only trying to suck up to everyone, just so he could avoid a life sentence in Azkaban. Now, she knew that it was time to deal with him, once and for all.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to thank 'Aurora Nightstar' for suggesting that part of Ron's punishment was being banned from entering Hogsmeade for his entire third year.**


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: As usual, all I own is this fanfic. The rest of the Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!_

 **Warning: Sensitive moments will happen in this chapter, so reader's discretion is advised.**

 **Chapter Six**

Back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry and the Weasley twins were trying to kill some time before dinner by playing some exploding snap. The others who were keeping an eye on Ron were coming down into the common room. Hermione appeared a bit on the grouchy side, as were Angelina, Alicia and Katie.

"Oooh, that Ginevra," Hermione ranted. "She just doesn't wanna accept the truth. I've had it about up to my head with her tantrums!"

"We all are, Hermione," said Alicia. "We can all hear her screaming and crying like a baby just because Harry won't 'notice' her. We should probably teach our fellow first year Gryffindors how to cast silence wards since they have to put up with Ginevra the most."

"That's a great idea!" Katie and Angelina replied in agreement.

"Since it could be just the four of us," said Hermione. "Maybe we can teach one girl each by ourselves."

"Of course," said Katie. "But we need to find a way of doing so without Ginevra knowing."

"Pretty much," agreed Angelina. "The first years will be thrilled to learn how to cast the silence wards since they frequently hear Ginevra's tantrums, and they also complain about how Ginevra's tantrums are heard in a loud enough voice, like the entire world should know."

"Not to mention that Ginevra even complained about nobody taking her side in Harry not noticing her," said the twins. "We keep telling her over and over again that Harry would never think of dating her."

"That very look she gives me," said Harry. "It gets annoying. I know what her intentions are, but she needs to learn that sometimes you don't get what you want."

"That's certainly true, Harry," said Oliver. "The world doesn't work that way."

"That's what McGonagall told Ickle Ronnykins when he claimed that Daphne was corrupting Harry, as well as blaming her for the 'reason' that Harry wouldn't notice Ickle Ginnykins." said the twins.

"I wonder what Ronald's punishment will be." said Hermione.

"A pretty suitable one," said the twins. "We think he'll be getting a howler from mum and dad both."

"I wish we can all witness it right now," said Neville, trying to hold his laughter in. "It's just gonna be too good to miss!"

Ginny came down from the girls' dormitory and into the common room. She ignored the glares she quickly received and walked over to Harry once she spotted him.

"Oh, great!" said Harry sarcastically.

"Not so fast, Ginevra!" warned the Gryffindor chasers, stepping in front of Harry.

"Hey, get outta my way!" Ginny demanded.

"You ain't gonna try what I think you're gonna try, Ginevra." snapped Hermione, also standing in front of Harry.

"What?!" asked Ginny, trying to play dumb (which obviously wasn't working, the glares she was still getting was clear proof).

"You know _exactly_ what, Ginevra," said Katie (ignoring Ginny's seething in anger at being called by her given name). "We won't let you attempt to kiss Harry on the lips. Unless you wanna join Ronald in Professor McGonagall's office, I suggest you turn around and leave Harry alone."

"Yes," said Hermione, pointing to the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory. "You'd better head back before you cause _any_ further trouble."

"But Harry needs me," whined Ginny, who didn't pay heed to Harry rolling his eyes in exasperation. "That filthy snake corrupted him! She needs to understand that Harry is mine!"

She immediately ran toward Harry, intending to kiss him on the lips. Angelina hit Ginny with a tripping spell, then Alicia, Katie and Hermione picked the jealous redhead up onto her feet and the four girls began escorting her to a bathroom in the girls dormitory. Ginny was struggling to free herself, which only resulted in the four girls tightening their grip. Harry blew a sigh of relief when Ginny was out of sight. Fred, George, Lee, Neville and Oliver patted Harry's shoulders in a comforting manner.

"I don't get why Ginevra continues to think I'm her's," said Harry. "That behaviour she's been exhibiting is irrational."

"Well, dad would often tell her stories of you coming to her rescue," said the twins. "He did that to help get her to fall asleep quickly on nights where she'd be restless. Please don't blame him for it, we don't think he was trying to fill her head with all that 'Harry will someday be mine' kind of baloney."

"I don't blame him in the slightest," assured Harry. "Ginevra more than likely just came to believe all that on her own accord. She never pays heed to the fact that I despise my fame and it's driving me nuts! I think I'll take a walk before dinner, before I lose my sanity!"

"Alright, Harry." said the twins.

So Harry got up and left Gryffindor Tower, so he could get his head cleared before dinner (which was a little over an hour away). Back in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, Angelina, Alicia, Katie and Hermione were having mixed results getting Ginny inside a bathroom. The jealous redhead kept trying to get back to Harry (unaware that he left to take a walk) while acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum. As they made their way over to a shower stall, Hermione turned the temperature to cold (not too cold, but enough to ensure that Ginny would settle down). Ginny continued protesting, but it fell on deaf ears because the other Gryffindor girls had enough of her rambunctious behaviour, particularly the other first years. With joint effort, Hermione, Angelina, Alicia and Katie pushed Ginny into the shower spray and made her sit down. Complaining about the water being cold also fell on deaf ears.

"You're gonna stay right under the spray until further notice," Hermione hollered in Ginny's face. "You need to settle down this instant!"

Of course, Ginny was dreading it. They didn't even let her change out of her school uniform. That was just as well because Ginny would've used that opportunity to try to whine to the other girls to take her side. Her soaked school uniform was starting to make her shiver a little, but it didn't matter to the four older girls keeping an eye on her. They still believed that Ginny wasn't even close to settling down, at least not yet. Meanwhile, Harry continued wandering the corridors while passing the time before dinner. He was around on the fifth floor when he crossed paths with Daphne (who was trying to keep her distance from Draco). The two smiled at each other with excitement.

"Hello, Harry!" greeted Daphne.

"Hello, Daphne!" Harry greeted back.

"Are you alright?" Daphne replied. "Before you spotted me, I saw that you had an irritable look on your face!"

"Ginevra was the reason," stated Harry. "She tried running toward me with the intention to kiss me on the lips."

"Without your permission?!" asked Daphne, getting outraged.

"Uh huh," said Harry. "She and Ronald even went off claiming that you were trying to corrupt me."

"They're crazy, Harry," said Daphne. "They just judge people before getting to know them. That's among the reasons why they're the most hated students within the student body."

"Not to mention that Ronald turned out to be a backstabber," said Harry. "Fred and George escorted him to McGonagall's office."

"That'll be enough to make him an outcast," said Daphne. "Can we find an empty classroom, so we can talk about a more private matter without anybody bothering us?"

"Yeah, might as well." agreed Harry.

So the unlikely pair made a beeline for the nearest abandoned classroom. Once they were inside one, Daphne cast a few spells on the door to ensure privacy, which surprised Harry. As Daphne sat down across from Harry, she became fidgety.

"Harry," said Daphne, getting worried once more. "Wh-When you told me about Dumbledore's claims of you being better off safe in the muggle world being irony, it got me thinking about your l-l-life o-o-outside Hogwarts being b-bad!"

"Well… it's actually worse than that," Harry nervously admitted. "It's beyond enough t-to make me wanna stay away from my so-called r-relat-ti-tives, as far as possible."

"That thought came to me last night," said Daphne. "Something told m-m-me that… you… g-g-get... abused!"

Naturally, Harry tensed up and Daphne feared that that was going to happen. She felt a tear shedding from one of her eyes when she witnessed that. Harry had no idea if he should be mad at Daphne or if he should be terrified that his so called uncle would give him beatings after bribing his way out of trouble.

'I don't wanna go back there!' thought Harry desperately. 'Uncle Vernon will just bribe his way out of trouble again, I just know it!'

Harry felt his body shaking in utter fear and he brought his knees up to his chest. Then he buried his face into his arms as he continued shaking, utterly terrified. Daphne felt more tears flowing from her eyes as she watched Harry shaking and fidgeting in a frightened manner. She felt her heart going out to the raven haired boy before her. The times of being called a freak, being labelled a burden or a disease, or being referred to as 'boy' kept popping up in Harry's mind. Even though Harry opened up to Fred, George, Professors McGonagall and Snape about his abusive treatment from the Dursleys, he still tensed up.

'What if Ron was right?!' thought a still terrified Harry. 'What if she's only playing me like a puppet? What if Daphne is really double crossing me? Is she really just trying to suck up to me?'

"I'm sorry, Harry," Daphne apologized quickly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. The thought only came to me, nobody told me. I just simply came to the conclusion that that was what happened."

'Then again,' thought Harry as he felt his body beginning to relax. 'Maybe she really is trying to help me!'

He slowly lifted his head up and saw the tears in Daphne's eyes. She reached out and grabbed one of his hands, then gave it a gentle squeeze. Harry felt some warmth flow throughout his body, which also proved that Daphne was genuinely comforting him. Harry also felt his heart breaking when he saw Daphne in tears, remembering when he saw tears in Hermione's eyes because of Ron (which subsequently led to the troll incident on Halloween last year). As Harry also felt some tears welling up, Daphne gave him a hug and he returned it.

"I won't force you into talking about it, Harry," Daphne whispered with assurance in her voice. "I'll wait until you feel ready."

"Thank you, Daphne," Harry whispered back, grateful for her assurance. "Though, I can't get mad at you since you did say that you came to that conclusion! I did open up to Fred and George first since they got clues to my life outside of Hogwarts."

"So that was why they were also absent at breakfast?" asked Daphne.

"Uh huh," said Harry. "I was telling them all about my life outside and before Hogwarts. They didn't realize the full extent of it all until this morning."

So Harry continued on and told Daphne everything he told Fred and George. Daphne couldn't believe how Harry spent much of his life without receiving any love or affection (let alone getting abused left and right at the same time). She was blood boiling when Harry told her how the few times he tried to get help, his uncle would bribe the headmistress at his primary school to keep quiet and then punish Harry unjustly while letting Dudley and his gang get away with their behaviour. Daphne even had a hand over her mouth when Harry mentioned how he was given very little to eat while Dudley ate excessive amounts of junk food. It was enough to make her want to vomit. She even widened her eyes in utter fright when Harry even told her how Marge's dog terrorized him and that Ripper looked intent to kill him the day Harry accidentally stepped on the dog's paw. Daphne wanted so badly to hex the Dursleys to kingdom come when she even found out that they just laughed at Harry's predicament, whether Ripper mauled Harry to death or not. Daphne gave Harry another hug as she felt more tears dripping down her face, with Harry hugging her back.

'I can feel more weight lifting off of my shoulders!' thought Harry, feeling more relieved.

"Those relatives of yours are crazy," said Daphne. "If anyone should be ashamed, it's them."

"Yeah, but they're too cowardly to face the consequences." said Harry. "Did you also tell Professor Snape of your intuition? He was also present when I told Professor McGonagall."

"Well, yes," Daphne admitted. "I wasn't doing so to break your trust, it was because I was worried about you. Snape also noticed my struggling during our potions lesson, so he later on asked me why and I told him what my hunch was."

Harry felt even more relieved when he finally understood Daphne's intentions. He also realized how much he meant to her. Harry and Daphne continued hugging each other, to the point where they didn't realize that dinnertime had already arrived. In the Great Hall, the students were filing in for dinner. Fred and George noticed that Harry didn't make it, which made them wonder why. Hermione noticed it too, and she also saw that Daphne was absent. Ginny was in a sour mood because she didn't get to spend any time with 'her' Harry and she glared at Hermione, Angelina, Alicia and Katie.

'Those four will be sorry for doing that!' thought Ginny bitterly. 'Making me take a stupid cold shower just so I'd 'settle down,' and then get a warning to leave my Harry alone or they would tattle on me. Is there anybody out there willing to take _my_ side on this matter?'

Up at the staff table, the teachers also noticed that Harry and Daphne were absent. Professors McGonagall and Snape were thinking of the reason why that was.

'I wonder if Mr. Potter came clean to Miss Greengrass.' thought the deputy headmistress.

'Maybe Mr. Potter is opening up some more by telling Miss Greengrass what he told me and Minerva.' thought Snape.

Over at the Slytherin table, Draco wasn't happy that Daphne was 'standing him up.' Theo and Pansy patted his back for comfort when they saw his irritable look. Even Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain patted Draco's shoulders to give him comfort.

'If Daphne is secretly seeing Potter, ooooh she'll be in huge trouble,' thought Draco angrily. 'She should know that we don't interact with the lions in a friendly manner, especially Potter! I'll give her a piece of my mind when she makes it back to the Slytherin common room!'

Back in the isolation room where Ron was waiting, he was dreading it. He wasn't allowed to eat any more than what Professor McGonagall had given him before she left for the Great Hall. Ron also had no known way of entertaining himself, which was making his stay in the isolation so dull and boring. Time for him was passing by really slowly, making it feel like his mind could snap at any moment. At the same time, his insides twisted at the thought of what his parents' howler was going to say. Ron knew if his dad sent one, that meant he and his siblings misbehaved more severely. If his parents sent one with joint effort in the writing, it'd be even worse. What if they pulled him out and decided to home school him? What kind of chores was he bound to do once the summer holidays arrived? Ron was unable to come up with an answer to any of his questions.

 _To be continued!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: As mentioned before, I just own this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Seven**

Harry and Daphne were still hugging each other when they realized that dinner would be finishing up in ten minutes. They were reluctant to stop because Harry realized how warm and gentle Daphne's hugs were. Likewise, Daphne was having similar thoughts when Harry was hugging her. As much as they wanted to continue, they finally stopped (knowing that if they returned to their respective common rooms after the majority of the student population, the wrong people would ask them why they were late). Even though many others saw Daphne as Harry's date for the Valentine's Ball, some of the Gryffindors and Slytherins refused to put a stop to the worthless rivalry.

"Well, see ya later, Harry." said Daphne.

"See ya, Daphne." said Harry.

Daphne grabbed a hold of Harry's hold and gave it another gentle squeeze, followed by a smile. Harry returned the smile, then Daphne turned around and walked out of the unused classroom to return to the Slytherin common room. Harry felt his heart beating with excitement because of all the comfort Daphne provided him.

'Bloody hell,' thought Harry as he continued smiling. 'Daphne's still taking my breath away! I can't believe Malfoy only wants her for his own selfish excuses! While I hope he won't want that contract anymore, the whole ordeal appears to be far from finished.'

Then Harry left the abandoned classroom and started heading back to Gryffindor Tower. Meanwhile, Daphne made it back to the Slytherin common room (making sure to be aware of her surroundings). Despite her efforts, tonight wasn't one of those nights where her tactic worked because at that moment, somebody grabbed one of her arms before she could walk into the girls' dormitory. Upon being pushed against a wall, Daphne discovered that it was Draco (to her horror) and he was mad.

"Hello, Daphne," said Draco with a sneer. "Now where were you? You stood me up at dinner!"

"Which isn't over yet," said Daphne, trying to free herself with no use. "Usually, you don't leave early."

"It was to remind you that we're under contract," snapped Draco. "Now, were you spending time with Potter?"

"That ain't your concern, Malfoy!" Daphne retorted. Then Draco smacked her across the face, hard.

"I don't wanna hear that again!" growled Draco. "Did you spend time with Potter or not?"

"Like I would tell you," said Daphne while ignoring the stinging pain on her cheek. "It ain't polite to stick your nose where it shouldn't be!"

"Wrong answer, Daphne!" snapped Draco. "Now unless you agree that you'll stop seeing Potter, you won't be allowed to leave the common room."

Daphne refused to even speak, knowing it wasn't any of Draco's business to know if she was spending time with Harry. Suddenly, Daphne felt one of Draco's hands touching the back of one of her upper legs and making it's way up to her bottom, which angered her. Even though she was wearing black tights under her skirt, it still felt like Draco's hand was touching her bare skin. Neither Draco nor Daphne realized that Tracey walked into the common room and she couldn't believe what Draco was doing. As soon as Draco gave Daphne's bottom a firm squeeze, she kicked him in the groin. It was with such force that a crunching sound was heard, enough to make Tracey cringe. Then Daphne gave Draco a kick to his stomach for good measure. Draco could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he winced in pain, especially when he squeezed them shut. When Daphne started heading to the girls' dormitory, she finally spotted Tracey.

"I didn't realize you were there, Trace." said Daphne, as she and her best friend walked into the girls' dormitory.

"Well, I left the Great Hall a little earlier than usual," stated Tracey. "I just wanted to know where you've been, you didn't make it for dinner."

"I was in an empty classroom with Harry," said Daphne, once she and Tracey were in her room. "He was opening up to me about his previous life. It would probably be best if he told you himself, I don't wish to break his trust and ruin a friendship with him."

"I understand, Daph," assured Tracey. "Even though I do have a good idea what his life before and outside of Hogwarts was like, I should follow your example and let him talk about it himself. I heard a crunching sound when you kicked Malfoy in the groin, that was impressive!"

"Do you think I took away his ability to have children?!" asked Daphne in surprise, her eyes also widening at the possibility.

"I believe so," Tracey deduced. "It would be surprising if he ever managed to do so."

"Yeah, but it serves him right," said Daphne. "He was asking for it when he rubbed the back of my leg and squeezed my bottom."

"Yep," agreed Tracey. "He'll likely try to defend that with the whole 'I didn't say I wanted it' baloney. Malfoy needs to understand, one way or another that actions speaks louder than words."

Daphne nodded her head in agreement. Then Tracey left and went to her room to get homework done, and Daphne went to do just that. After she finished, Daphne's thoughts returned to Harry and how good it felt to hug him. At the same time, Daphne began getting nervous because of what she did to Draco. He likely would whine to his father about it because he never said that he didn't want the contract anymore. Neither Draco nor Daphne had any idea that Malfoy's reign of terror was on the verge of coming to an end.

(Scene break)

The next morning at Malfoy Manor, Lucius and his wife Narcissa were eating breakfast in their dining room. Upon hearing a knock at the door, Lucius got up to answer it. When he opened the door, he saw Amelia and several aurors accompanying her.

"What may I do for you, Amelia?" asked Lucius.

"A discussion, Lucius," stated Amelia. "I'm afraid it can't be delayed."

"Uh... yes, come on in." said Lucius.

So he showed Amelia and the other aurors inside and into the living room. Once there, Lucius faced the head of the DMLE.

"What kind of discussion did you need, Amelia?" asked Lucius.

"Well," Amelia began explaining. "I received a letter yesterday that mentioned something about your house elf visiting Lord Harry James Potter during the summer holidays. May I speak with your house elf?"

"I suppose so," said Lucius, then he called out. "DOBBY!"

The house elf appeared before one of his masters instantly. Amelia turned her attention to Dobby (while Lucius glared at the house elf).

"Dobby," said Amelia. "Was there a reason that you visited Harry during the summer holidays?"

"Yes," Dobby replied. "To warn him not to return to Hogwarts this year."

"Why is that?" asked Amelia.

"Some kind of plot to make somethings so terrible." said Dobby.

"And what kind of plot was it?" asked Amelia, getting suspicious.

"Dobby cannot says," the house elf fearfully replied. "Dobby cannot defy master's orders!"

"Dobby!" growled Lucius in anger.

He suddenly found himself with wands pointed at him. Lucius' hands were placed behind his back and placed in magic suppression handcuffs.

"Now Lucius," said a dark skin auror. "You don't have to say anything, as it may harm your defence in court. Anything you choose to say can be given in evidence."

Once Lucius was back on his feet, he was escorted out and over to the ministry. He was put into a holding cell after changing into his prison uniform. Narcissa was shocked to learn that her husband was involved in some kind of scheme, so she started thinking about filing for divorce.

Back at Hogwarts, everybody was filing into the Great Hall for breakfast. When Harry and his real friends spotted Ron walking in, they just glared at him while they had their arms crossed. Ron sat a reasonable distance from Harry, too ashamed to even face him. Ron looked up just in time to see a howler, then he sighed with uneasiness. He had been right in deducing that he would get a howler from his mother. Knowing that ignoring a howler was worse, Ron opened it (with a trembling hand) and the voice of his mother screamed:

" **RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU BETRAYED HARRY BEHIND HIS BACK! WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HUH?! I KNEW I WAS RIGHT IN FIGURING OUT THAT FLYING YOUR FATHER'S CAR TO THE SCHOOL WAS ALL YOUR IDEA AND ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!"**

Then the voice of Ron's father screamed: **"HOW COULD YOU BE SO FOOLISH INTO THINKING THAT YOUR IDEA WAS BETTER? YOU KNEW DARN WELL THAT HARRY'S IDEA IN SIMPLY WAITING BY THE CAR WAS THE SMARTER CHOICE, BUT NO, YOU PERSUADED HIM OTHERWISE BECAUSE YOU ASSUMED THAT THE CAR WASN'T NEEDED! WHEN THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS START, YOU'LL BE GROUNDED UNTIL THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR STARTS!"**

Then the voice of Mrs. Weasley screamed again: **"EXACTLY, RONALD! YOU'LL ALSO BE DOING CHORES DURING THE SUMMER! PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL EVEN MENTIONED THAT YOU'LL BE HAVING DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND YOUR FATHER AND I SUPPORT THAT 100%! WE EVEN THINK THAT SOME OF YOUR DETENTIONS INVOLVING YOU WORKING ON YOUR SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS WILL DO WONDERS!"**

Then the voice of Mr. Weasley screamed again: **"THAT'S RIGHT, RONALD! NO MORE SLACKING OFF! NO MORE COMPELLING HERMIONE INTO DOING YOUR HOMEWORK FOR YOU, AND NO MORE PESTERING HARRY INTO FOLLOWING YOUR SO-CALLED LEAD! PART OF YOUR PUNISHMENT OVER THE SUMMER WILL INCLUDE HAVING A TUTOR COME OVER TO THE HOUSE! IF YOUR MOTHER AND I RECEIVE ANY MORE REPORTS OF YOU MISBEHAVING FROM PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL, WE'LL PULL YOU RIGHT OUT OF HOGWARTS AND HAVE YOU BE HOMESCHOOLED!"**

Then the howler floated it's way towards Harry and faced him, with Mr. Weasley's _and_ Mrs. Weasley's respective voices replying in unison: **"We do apologize for Ronald's behaviour, Harry. We didn't raise him this way. We never blamed you in the slightest for that whole car flying fiasco. You're always welcome at our house!"**

Harry smiled and relaxed when he realized that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't blame him at all. Then the howler turned it's attention to Hermione, with both of the Weasley parents' voices simultaneously responding: **"We also apologize, Hermione. We never expected Ronald to have such a terrible work ethic. We certainly didn't expect him to try using you in order to get good grades without doing the work on his own. You're also always welcome at our house. Don't let Ronald's insults get to you."**

Then the howler floated it's way back to Ron and proceeded to blow a raspberry at him. Then it burned to ashes as Ron looked at his plate. He pushed it away (with trembling hands) as he found himself no longer hungry. His stomach was burning with guilt and what he had lost. Many of the other students jeered at Ron as he got up and ran out of the Great Hall and into the nearest boys' bathroom. Fred and George were surprised by the howler.

"Wicked!" said the twins. "A howler from mum and dad both, and Ickle Ronnykins received a total of two in the same school year?! That must be a record!"

"Yeah!" said Harry in surprise, then he turned his attention to Hermione. "How did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley find out about Ronald using you, pestering me into following his 'lead' and his insults towards you?"

"I may have let slip to them about it, in a letter to them shortly after the Valentine's Ball," said Hermione with a smirk on her face (which told Harry that she did it on purpose). "Since Ronald never bothered to apologize to me for the hurtful remarks, even after a few days he wouldn't do so. I even confronted him for it, but he claimed it wasn't a big deal and that I didn't deserve any apology."

"Ickle Ronnykins was really that insensitive?" asked the twins, outraged. "He's just earned himself the number one spot on our list of victims for pranks! Another way for him to get his just desserts!"

"Daphne even stated that Ronald was bound to become an outcast," said Harry ecstatically. "The jeers he was getting as he ran out just proved it!"

"It sure did," said Oliver. "The other students are also bound to keep bringing the howler up whenever they see him. Ronald won't get a moments peace, but no sympathy for him."

"I concur." said Neville.

The Gryffindor chasers were taking turns patting Hermione on the shoulders for comfort. Hermione was worried that Ron would try to label her as a tattle tale for 'letting slip' to his parents about the insults she frequently got from him. Hermione was assured that she wasn't being a tattle tale and that Ron had to realize that actions have consequences. After breakfast was finished, all of the students left the Great Hall to go to their respective lessons. On the way to Charms class, Harry crossed paths with Daphne again (who was accompanied by Tracey).

"How are you doing, Harry?" asked Daphne as she smiled at him.

"Good, now," said Harry, smiling back. "You _were_ right, Ronald was bound to be an outcast because of what he did."

"He got what was coming to him," stated Daphne. "Did you make it back to your common room okay?"

"Yeah, but I was still being cautious. So I wouldn't come across Ginevra 'the delusional' Weasley." said Harry. "How about you, did you make it back to your common room okay, Daph?"

Daphne smiled and blushed at what Harry called her. Harry also turned red in embarrassment, but and inner panic took over him.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized quickly, thinking that Daphne didn't like it. "I-I-I didn't mean to!"

"Harry, don't be sorry," assured Daphne. "I only allow my friends to called me Daph! Tracey quite often greets me with that."

"Yes," said Tracey, putting an arm around Harry's shoulders in a comforting manner. "It was nothing to be ashamed of, Harry. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, okay," said Harry. "Just never know."

"Well, we'd better head to our lessons, Harry," said Daphne. "We'll see ya later!"

"Okay, bye… Daph!" said Harry, with Daphne giving off a high pitched, amused giggle.

So she and Tracey (who was also giggling) started heading off to their lessons while Harry went to Charms. Neville and Hermione joined Harry in walking to Professor Flitwick's classroom. They could tell that Harry must've been flirting with Daphne because he was still blushing. Ginny was still in a bad mood because of the cold shower, and she was planning to find a way to get Hermione, Angelina, Alicia and Katie in trouble as 'punishment' for depriving her of spending time with 'her' Harry. Ginny had no idea that she was just risking biting off more than she could chew.

'Once lessons end for the day,' thought Ginny bitterly, on her way to potions. 'I'll make sure those four girls get in trouble for what they did to me! I'll even exaggerate it as much as possible if I have to! Nobody can get in between me and my Harry!'

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to give a shoutout to 'Aurora Nightstar' for suggesting Ginny's plan to tattle on Hermione and the Gryffindor chasers and exaggerate, as her retaliation for the cold shower incident.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: As usual, I only own this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Eight**

Lucius was having a bad day because his house elf went to warn Harry Potter of the terrible plot that was bound to happen. He was taken to an interrogation room, given three drops of veritaserum, then Amelia began asking him questions once Lucius' eyes clouded over as he fell into a trance-like state.

"What is your name?" asked Amelia, checking to make sure the potion was working.

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy." said Lucius in a monotone voice.

"What kind of plot was your house elf referring to?" asked Amelia.

"It was for me to get rid of the dark artefacts I had in my manor," said Lucius. "Because Arthur Weasley set up that proposed Muggle Protection Act, I sold those artefacts at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley before my manor could be raided."

"So all of your artefacts have been sold at Borgin and Burkes?" asked Amelia.

"All but one," said Lucius. "I slipped a diary that belonged to the dark lord into Miss Ginevra Weasley's cauldron at Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing in Diagon Alley. The front cover of the diary says, _'Tom Marvolo Riddle'_ at the bottom. It was intended to reopen the Chamber of Secrets for Lord Voldemort, but I attempted to frame Ginevra for it to discredit the Weasley family even further by having her not only purge Hogwarts of all muggle-borns, but also to help the dark lord return to full power."

Amelia was so outraged by that, to the point where any further interrogation became unnecessary. So she quickly instructed the antidote to be given and have Lucius be escorted back to his holding cell to await sentencing. Once that was taken care of, Amelia called several aurors to her office and proceeded to give them instructions to go to Hogwarts to search for any dark objects. By the time they all apparated to just outside the wards of Hogwarts, lunchtime was just beginning. Amelia and the aurors barged their way into the castle and into the Great Hall, shocking the students and the teachers. Amelia marched toward Albus with a stern look on her face, enough to make Albus cower a bit.

"Amelia," said Albus. "I'm afraid we're just get…"

"Can it, Albus," snapped Amelia. "Did it even occur to you that a dark object got through the wards around the school."

"Now Amelia," said Albus, trying to conceal his nervousness. "I'm sure this is just an exaggeration!"

"For your information, Albus," said Amelia irritably. "Lucius was arrested and taken into custody this morning and he confessed that some dark object in the form of a diary found it's way into the hands of Ginevra Weasley."

All of the Gryffindors pointed their fingers at Ginny (who immediately tried playing innocent). Nevertheless, Amelia approached the Weasley girl and proceeded to ask her questions.

"Miss Weasley," asked Amelia sternly. "Were you even aware of the fact that the diary you have in your possession was a dark object?"

"What diary?" asked Ginny, still playing innocent.

"I suggest you cooperate, Miss Weasley," said Amelia irritably. "I know you were listening to my discussion with the headmaster. Now were you aware of the diary being a dark object or not?"

"I have no such diary," Ginny claimed. "Somebody else must've gotten a hold of it."

"I'm going to need to search your school bag, Miss Weasley," said Amelia, not fooled in the slightest. "Dark objects in this school pose a danger to the other students, now go get your school bag."

"But…" Ginny tried to talk her way out.

"You'd better do as Amelia instructed, Miss Weasley," scolded Professor McGonagall, giving Ginny a stern look. "Before you make this worse."

Ginny huffed in frustration, but reluctantly got up and walked back to Gryffindor Tower. She made it to her four poster bed in the girls' dormitory. Ginny saw the diary in her bag and immediately came up with an idea.

'I'll get Granger in trouble first," said Ginny with a mischievous grin. "Since she helped in preventing me from spending time with my Harry, she'll be the first. Then I'll get the Gryffindor chasers in trouble, one by one after that. Say goodbye to Hogwarts forever, Granger."

So Ginny grabbed her school bag, then she left the first year dormitory and made her way to the second year girls' dormitory. She found Hermione's school bag and dropped the diary in it, then she grabbed the bag and left Gryffindor Tower. Upon making it back into the Great Hall, Ginny showed the school bags to Amelia.

"Why do you have two bags, Miss Weasley?" asked Amelia suspiciously.

"Well, one of them has the object you requested," said Ginny. "So I may not have it at all."

"That's my bag in Ginevra's left hand!" said Hermione, outraged.

"Don't worry, Hermione," said Harry. "I'm sure she's just talking nonsense. Let Amelia search them, okay?"

Hermione obeyed Harry, but she still couldn't believe that Ginny had her school bag. So Amelia searched through Ginny's bag first and found nothing. Upon searching through Hermione's bag, Amelia pulled the diary out. This caused Hermione to gasp in horror, with her mouth wide open in further outrage. The other Gryffindors became conflicted over the ordeal.

"See," Ginny claimed. "I told you that I had no such diary in my possession. Hermione claimed that she offered to take the blame for me, but she only stole the diary from me just to avoid trouble."

"NO!" Hermione blurted out, even though Amelia and the other aurors turned their glare on her. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Miss Granger," scolded Amelia. "Why would you have this dark object in your bag?"

"It's true, Madam Bones," said Fred and George in unison. "Hermione is innocent."

"Yes," said Harry. "I saw Lucius slip that diary into Ginevra's cauldron shortly after Lockhart's book signing."

"We saw that, too," said Fred and George. "Hermione was nowhere near that diary."

"Miss Weasley," said Amelia angrily, once she and the others turned their glare on her. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

"They were confunded," said Ginny. "Looks can be deceiving."

"Miss Weasley, that's enough," shouted Professor McGonagall. "I can't believe that you would tamper with evidence, in order to get Miss Granger in hot water!"

"And tampering with evidence is a serious crime," stated Amelia. "Now, Miss Weasley, you must place your hands behind your back."

Ginny refused, instead she glared at Hermione for having 'confunded Harry.' When she tried charging at Hermione with the intention to beat her up, a tripping spell was fired at Ginny, knocking her to the ground. Then an auror with dark skin attempted to place magic suppression handcuffs on Ginny. She struggled to free herself, which made it worse because another auror came to help.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Ginny, as tears started flowing out of her eyes. "LET GOOOOOOOOO!"

"Alright, Miss Weasley," stated Amelia. "You're also charged with resisting arrest, now you'd better settle down before you make this worse! You're also going to be charged with assault on Miss Granger."

"BUT HARRY'S CONFUSED," screamed Ginny, refusing to settle down. "HE NEEDS ME! HE NEEDS ME! LET GO, LET ME GOOOOOO!"

After some initial struggle, the two aurors managed to get Ginny placed in the magic suppression handcuffs. Fred, George and their older brother, Percy knew that with their dad working for the ministry, Ginny's arrest was bound to embarrass him. Ginny still struggled to free herself, making it difficult for her to be pulled up onto her feet. After Ginny was back on her feet, Professor McGonagall got up and picked Ginny's wand up, then she walked back to the staff table and handed it to Albus.

"Miss Weasley, you're hereby expelled from this school." Dumbledore declared, snapping Ginny's wand in two.

"Now, Miss Weasley," said the dark skin auror, as he and the other auror led the Weasley girl (who was still struggling) out. "You don't have to say anything, as it may harm your defence in court. Anything you _do_ choose to say can be given in evidence."

Because Ginny still refused to settle down, it took some time to get her out of the Great Hall. She even tried crying like a toddler throwing a tantrum to get out of her predicament, but that inevitably made it worse. Ginny also tried pleading for Harry to help get her out, which fell on deaf ears. Fred, George and Percy could tell that Ginny would be taken to a holding cell in the juvenile section of the ministry. Hermione had her head down in her arms, clearly upset by the fact that Ginny tried to frame her. The Gryffindor chasers took turns giving Hermione comforting pats on her shoulders.

"I still f-f-felt my life fla-ash before my eyes!" sobbed Hermione, wiping her eyes of the tears.

"It's alright, Hermione," said Angelina. "Ginevra is no longer here."

"Dad is gonna flip when he finds out what Ginevra got herself into," stated the twins. "Mum will also be angry with her."

"Do you think Ginevra would've tried doing a similar stunt on us chasers?" asked Alicia.

"Perhaps," said Katie. "Good thing her plan backfired when it did. Otherwise, the severity of the situation likely would've escalated."

Afternoon classes were cancelled due to the circumstances regarding the diary Lucius mentioned while under the influence of Veritaserum. Amelia instructed Albus to his office, so she could give him a talking to regarding the safety of the students. Meanwhile in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the ministry, Arthur Weasley was going over some paperwork when a knock at the door was heard.

"Come in!" Arthur called. Then the door opened and in walked a witch with bubble gum pink hair. "Tonks, what may I do for you?"

"Amelia sent a patronus my way," said the witch named Tonks. "She asked me to inform you that your daughter Ginevra is in a holding cell in the juvenile section."

"What?!" exclaimed Arthur. "What did she do to get dragged into a holding cell?"

"I have no clue," said Tonks. "But it also resulted in her expulsion from Hogwarts."

"Ginevra was really foolish enough into doing something that got her expelled?" said Arthur angrily. "First, Ron was the one to get in trouble, and now Ginevra? I felt certain that the howler Molly and I sent Ron would've been a wake up call! Well, I'd better have some words with Ginevra. Does Molly know about this?"

"Yes," said Tonks. "I saw her in the lobby when I was on my way down here to inform you."

"Thank you, Tonks," said Arthur. "I'd better go have a talk with Ginevra."

So Arthur left his office to scold his daughter for her actions. He couldn't comprehend what Ginny must've done to get expelled, let alone arrested at the same time. When Arthur finally reached the jail section where the wizarding juveniles were held, he met up with Molly and the dark skin auror.

"Kingsley, what exactly did our daughter do?" asked Arthur.

"Well, she had a cursed diary that Lucius planted in her cauldron after Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing," said the wizard named Kingsley. "But she attempted to tamper with evidence by framing Miss Hermione Granger for it. She also assaulted Miss Granger by attempting to beat her up. Ginevra was also resisting arrest and even tried to get Lord Potter to have it called off."

"We'd better go talk to her." said Molly.

So Kingsley led them over to an interrogation room where Ginny was held. Upon seeing her parents walking in, Ginny gulped nervously and cowered in fear. Arthur and Molly folded their arms across their chests as they glared at their daughter.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," scolded Arthur. "How do you explain this rambunctious behaviour of yours?"

"J-Just a simple mistake." said Ginny nervously.

"That was _not_ a simple mistake, young lady," Molly bellowed. "Your actions not only got you expelled, but it got you arrested and hauled here! I believe I taught you better than to use something that _thinks_ for itself!"

"You should've given that cursed diary to Albus or at least me," Arthur continued scolding. "Why did you wait until lunchtime to give it to Amelia?"

"She would've accused me of having it if I…" Ginny tried defending herself.

"Do you really think she would've done that?" asked Molly sternly.

"Why would Amelia just accuse somebody of something without proof?" asked Arthur irritably.

"Maybe I panicked." said Ginny.

"And look where it got you, Ginevra," scolded Molly. "Not just tampering with evidence, but you also resisted arrest. Not to mention that you also assaulted Hermione."

"I didn't hit her," Ginny tried defending her actions. "I was…"

"It doesn't matter, young lady!" snapped Molly.

"Exactly," said Arthur sternly. "Assault is threatening physical violence on somebody. If you had actually managed to use physical violence on Hermione, then it would've been counted as assault _and_ battery. But what made your case worse was the fact that you resisted arrest and you _continued_ to do so. Even after you were placed in magic suppression handcuffs, you continued struggling to free yourself. You wouldn't even settle down, despite Amelia's warning that if you kept at it, you would've made it worse."

"Your father and I will be having a discussion with Amelia to decide your punishment once she makes it back," stated Molly. "You'd better start preparing for the worst, understood?"

"But mum..." said Ginny.

"Don't you 'but mum' me, Ginevra Molly Weasley," scolded Molly. "You got yourself into this and you have no one to blame but yourself!"

With that, Molly and Arthur left the interrogation room, leaving Ginny speechless. Back at Hogwarts, Amelia finished getting on to Dumbledore for not checking on the wards around the castle. Before leaving, Amelia was stopped by her niece, Susan and the other scions and scionesses from the different most ancient and most noble houses.

"Auntie," said Susan. "Another crime Ginevra is guilty of is harassment."

"Really, Susan?" asked Amelia.

"Yes," said Susan. "Ginevra refused to leave Harry alone, no matter what."

"You also should've seen how many times she tried to kiss Harry on the lips without his consent." said Neville, with the other scion and scionesses nodding their heads.

"Molly and Arthur will be even more angry with their daughter for that," said Amelia. "Thank you all for informing me of all this."

"You're welcome!" chorused the scions and scionesses of the various most ancient and most noble houses.

So Amelia walked outside the wards and apparated back to the ministry. So they all split up to do what they planned to do, since classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. Daphne spotted Harry sitting on a tree stump close to the Black Lake, so she went to join him.

"You alright, Harry?" asked Daphne.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Just conflicted over the thoughts of whether reporting Ginevra's actions would've been tattling."

"Not in that case, Harry," assured Daphne. "The fact that she tried to frame Hermione wasn't tattling. We also informed Madam Bones of Ginevra being guilty of harassing you."

"Thank you," said Harry gratefully. "But you all didn't have to do that."

"I know," said Daphne. "But we did it anyway. It was our duty to look out for our fellow members of the most ancient and most noble houses. If you feel ready, you can write to my dad and inform him of your relatives treatment toward you."

"I'm not sure, Daph," said Harry. "Every time I tried getting help, it would always backfire on me. Dudley and his gang would label me as a tattle tale. Even my aunt and uncle did that when I revealed their actions to somebody. Plus, I don't wanna be a burden."

"My dad works for the Wizengamot," said Daphne. "With Amelia as the head of the DMLE, they'll be able to help make it clear to those muggles the hard way the difference between telling and tattling. Plus, your relatives won't be able to bribe them to get outta trouble."

"Thanks, Daph," said Harry. "I would like to see my so called relatives brought to justice. It's still taking some getting used to, me finally getting help that is."

Daphne sat down next to Harry and gave him a hug. Harry returned it, helping him relax. He knew that getting his relatives put behind bars wouldn't be an easy task. Plus, with the information about House Potter being one of the seven most ancient and most noble houses was still new to him. Maybe once he felt more comfortable with it, then he could inform Madam Bones of the abusive treatment the Dursleys gave him.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'm going to leave Amelia confronting Dumbledore over the lack of decent wards up to your imagination.**


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: As usual, I just own this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Nine**

Amelia made it back to the ministry with the cursed diary Lucius mentioned while under the influence of Veritaserum. The head of the DMLE handed the diary over to a team of unspeakables so they could research what it was that Voldemort created, and how many there were. Then she headed to the juvenile section of the ministry holding cells to talk with Molly and Arthur over the punishment for Ginny as a result of her actions. Ginny continued to wait in the interrogation room as she awaited what punishment she was bound to receive. After what seemed like an eternity for Ginny, her parents finally walked back in, with Amelia in tow.

"I've talked with your parents in regards to your punishment, Miss Weasley," said Amelia sternly, with her arms crossed. "You will spend four months here in the juvenile detention section. Once that's finished, you will be given 200 hours of community service at St. Mungo's Hospital. Furthermore, for harassing Harry and assaulting Miss Hermione Granger, a restraining order will be placed where you are forbidden from being within five feet of either of them."

Ginny (her eyes widening incredulously) couldn't believe that she was now forbidden to stay away from Harry. But the punishment was still far from finished because that was when her parents spoke up.

"You will also be under house arrest, young lady," stated Molly in a no-nonsense voice. "The only time where you will be allowed outside our house wards is at St. Mungo's for community service. Anytime you're home, you _will_ be helping Ronald with chores during the summer holidays. Your father and I will also be looking around for another magical school for you to attend when the next school year approaches."

"I can't be forbidden from being near my Harry," said Ginny in horror. "That snake will continue to corrupt him!"

"Miss Weasley," said Amelia sternly. "I can assure you that Harry isn't in any real danger. You should learn that there are some nice Slytherin students. You should also learn that it's one's choices that defines who we are!"

"Exactly, Ginevra," said Molly. "You'd better be on good behaviour during your time here in juvenile detention, or else your stay here will be extended!"

"Even if you get released early for good behaviour," said Arthur. "You'll still have to do community service at St. Mungo's, and you also won't escape at-home punishments and house arrest anytime you're not performing community service."

Once they were finished, Ginny was escorted over to a cell to begin her juvenile sentence. Naturally, there was nothing to help keep her distracted. Dinnertime was going to take an eternity to arrive. Meanwhile, Harry and Daphne were still looking out across the Black Lake.

"Did Malfoy try anything… bad to you, Daph?" asked Harry. "Something told me that the whole contract thing is far from finished."

"Sort of," said Daphne. "He was letting his hands 'wander' after he demanded to know if you and I were spending time with each other. I wouldn't tell him since it wasn't any of his business, but he was still adamant on finding out. He still continued letting his hands 'wander' and I got fed up and kicked him in the groin, with such force that I heard a crunching sound. Tracey was the only one to witness it and it made her cringe."

"That's Malfoy," said Harry, shuddering at the thought of how painful that kick must've been. "I've been hearing talk about how if anybody opposes him, he'll just use that 'wait until my father hears about this' defence."

"That's true," stated Daphne. "That makes him a coward because he thinks his father will be able to deal with it for him."

"I found out about his cowardice shortly after I made the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Harry started revealing. "He 'challenged' me to a midnight duel, with Ron, Neville and a then reluctant Hermione tagging along. But he never showed up for this so-called duel, instead Malfoy informed Filch that some students would be in the trophy room at midnight."

"Did he really?!" asked Daphne with surprise in her voice. "The ponce backed out?"

"He did," assured Harry while smiling. "But you won't have to worry about ending up with him anymore, anyway."

"This'll be an even bigger relief for my dad," said Daphne. "And now that Lucius has been arrested, the ponce no longer has a say in the contract, since he sacrificed it when he backed out of that duel. I can even tell the ponce what he did and that there's no going back for him."

"He won't be able to use that defence of his," said Harry. "And throwing a tantrum will make it worse for him."

"I concur," said Daphne. "Well, I'd better go to the owlery. I'll see ya later, Harry!"

"Okay, Daph," said Harry. "Take care."

Daphne gave Harry a hug before leaving (with Harry hugging her back), then she gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek. This made Harry blush and smile in excitement, also rendering him speechless since the kiss was unexpected. Then Daphne walked away with a smile on her face as she began heading for the owlery while Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower. Harry was still blushing even when he gave the password to the fat lady and climbed through the entrance. His fellow quidditch teammates (as well as Lee, Neville and Hermione) were sitting on or standing around the couch in front of the fireplace and they saw the blush on Harry's face.

"You alright, Harry?" asked Neville.

"Uh huh," Harry replied. "Just… Just…"

"Did Daphne have something to do with your blushing?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, yeah… she did," Harry responded ecstatically. "She kissed my cheek before going to the owlery!"

"No way," said Oliver with excitement in his voice. "Maybe that's a sign that the both of you are meant for each other, Harry!"

"Yeah, it could be," said Harry. "Too bad Malfoy won't accept that, nor Ronald. But it isn't any of their concerns."

"Speaking of Ronald," said Lee and he, Fred and George tried to suppress their giggles. "Fred, George and I came across Millicent Bulstrode expressing having a crush on him."

"I didn't know she had a crush on Ronald," said Hermione with surprise in her voice. "What did you tell her?!"

"Well," said the twins. "We told her that Ickle Ronnykins has a crush on her deep down!"

"We also let slip to her of all the places around the castle Ronald would more likely hang around," said Lee. "It made her happy!"

"He may try to avoid her at all costs," said Katie. "But, it serves him right for his behaviour."

"Oh, such a shame that he'll be getting unwanted attention!" said Alicia in mock sympathy.

"Ronald's irrational jealousy issues will finally be catching up to him," said Angelina. "Since he desires Harry's attention regardless if Harry wanted it or not. This will be one way of him getting his comeuppance!"

"Especially since Ronald never paid attention to the fact that I hate my fame," said Harry. "He knew it was a constant reminder that I no longer have my parents and that it came with even more costs, but he didn't care. Now we can see how he _really_ likes it."

"What other costs did your fame come with, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Harry took a deep breath, then he proceeded to tell his real friends what all he told Fred, George, Professors McGonagall and Snape, as well as Daphne. As they all continued listening to Harry's story of what his life was like outside of _and_ before Hogwarts, the girls felt tears shedding while Lee, Oliver and Neville were shocked into silence (their eyes widened was proof). Harry felt Hermione, Angelina, Alicia and Katie giving him a hug while Lee, Oliver and Neville patted Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, how come you didn't report your relatives abusive treatment to anyone?" asked Hermione.

"I tried," said Harry sadly. "Any time a teacher at my primary school tried to help, they'd get blacklisted while my cousin and his gang escaped punishment. The fact that they'd stick their tongues out at me implied that Uncle Vernon would bribe the headmistress into blacklisting the teachers who tried helping me and thus, allowing my so called relatives to continue their treatment towards me."

"I can't believe that your uncle never managed to try bribing the wrong people," Katie ranted. "It's like your relatives think they're above the law!"

"Nobody is," said Hermione. "It doesn't matter who they are or if they have the money. What makes that even more outraging is how they're too cowardly to even face justice. They ignore the fact that actions have consequences."

"Harry, since you're the head of House Potter," stated Neville. "You can press charges against your relatives."

"Plus, Madam Bones won't accept bribes from anybody," said Fred and George in unison. "No matter how many times your relatives may try to persuade her."

"Maybe I should make sure Dumbledore doesn't find out," said Harry. "Since he sent me back to the Dursleys, I don't trust him anymore."

"That reminds me," Hermione began revealing to Harry. "When you were in the hospital wing after your encounter with Professor Quirrell, Ronald and I came to check on you and we heard Madam Pomfrey ranting to Dumbledore about scars on your back, but Dumbledore just claimed it was all under control. Then he spotted Ronald and I when he walked out and told me and him not to worry. Ronald just shrugged it off while I started getting suspicious. Before Dumbledore walked out of the hospital wing, I heard him say the word _obliviate_."

"He must've modified Madam Pomfrey's memory," said Neville. "Obliviate is the incantation for the memory modification charm."

"So Dumbledore just wants me to stay with my 'family' for no real reason at all!" Harry deduced, getting more and outraged. "I even told him what kind of people my relatives were, but he just claimed that they weren't that bad. I also begged Dumbledore to put me with a loving and caring family, but he still claimed that I must return to the Dursleys for my so called safety. I asked why I 'had' to go back to the Dursleys, but he wouldn't tell me. He just claimed I wouldn't be safe elsewhere."

"What is Dumbledore thinking?" said Hermione, getting equally outraged. "All he's really been doing is committing child endangerment, and yet he won't listen to reason!"

"Then that means that our headmaster isn't the greatest wizard of all time many believe," said Fred and George in unison. "He also doesn't seem to realize that he isn't always right. His word can't be enough to prove that his plans are the best."

"Harry," warned the Gryffindor chasers. "You must steer clear of Dumbledore! If he keeps sending you back to your relatives, any one of these days they could kill you!"

"That almost happened once before," said Harry. "The year before I started, my uncle's sister came for a visit for my cousin's tenth birthday party. I accidentally stepped on her dog, Ripper's paw and the dog chased me out into the backyard and up a tree. Nobody bothered to call the dog off until sometime after midnight. They just laughed at it as if was funny and that my uncle's sister declared that as punishment, even though they knew it was an accident. That also meant that they didn't care if the dog managed to maul me to death. So Dumbledore no longer has my respect."

Harry found himself being hugged by the Gryffindor chasers, and Hermione once more. Meanwhile, Daphne made it back to the dungeons of Slytherin from the owlery after getting another letter from her father. After making it back to her room in the girls' dormitory, Daphne closed the door and added a privacy ward and locking charms to the door. Then she unfolded the letter and it said:

 _Hi Daphne,_

 _I'm proud of you for deciding to give Harry the space and time to open up to you when he feels ready. I did attempt to speak with Amelia regarding what you told me in your other letters and she told me that Severus also sent her a letter discussing Harry's life outside of school. I'm also proud of you for looking out for Harry, but if he hasn't yet, don't pressure him into talking about it. I'll talk it over with your mother to see if we can invite Harry over sometime during the summer holidays. You're definitely right, it would mean alot to Harry to finally experience what it means to have a loving and caring family. If we do decide that having Harry over will be alright, do let him know as soon as possible, just so he doesn't feel that this was all decided at the last minute. Hope to hear from you soon!_

 _Love,_

 _Dad_

Daphne smiled and felt her heart beating with excitement that there was hope that Harry could come home with her. Tori would definitely enjoy having Harry there at the manor. Then Daphne got out some parchment, walked over to her desk and began writing a response to her dad's letter. When it was finished, it read:

 _Hi daddy,_

 _I spoke with Harry about my suspicions about his life outside of school at dinnertime yesterday and he did start talking about it. As soon as I said the word 'abused,' he tensed up in fright. Then I apologized and told him I wouldn't pressure him into it if he didn't want to talk about it. But he finally started understanding my intentions because he assured me that he wasn't and couldn't get mad at me because of that thought popping up in my mind. He did looked shocked when he saw tears in my eyes, so he continued opening up to me. If you and mum do say yes on him coming over, I'll make sure he knows ASAP. Harry also happened to tell me that Draco called up a midnight duel with him last year and that he backed out. It made me happier to know that I no longer have to worry about marrying Draco since he backed out of that midnight duel, even though he called it up. Talk to you soon, daddy!_

 _Love,_

 _Daphne_

Once she folded up her letter, Daphne placed it on her desk and started doing her homework. Occasionally, her thoughts would return to Harry and she'd feel her heart beating with excitement again while smiling. While she felt certain her parents would say yes into having Harry come over, she knew that she shouldn't get her hopes up too high. She just needed to await an actual confirmation, so she continued doing her homework to keep herself distracted.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to thank 'Jay Saxena' for suggesting that Amelia give the diary to the unspeakables so they can research what was contained in it.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: As previously mentioned, I just own this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest of the Harry Potter series, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Ten**

The next day after breakfast, Harry and his fellow Gryffindors returned to Gryffindor Tower to get their stuff together and head for the dungeons for potions class. Harry spotted Professor Lockhart on the way and tried to avoid him, but luck wasn't on his side (as usual), since the incompetent defence teacher spotted Harry at that very moment.

"Harry, Harry," said Lockhart. "I was looking for you. You could've just admitted that you were going to the Valentine's Dance. There's been alot of talk about your time with Miss Greengrass. Surely you don't wanna turn down a chance for an interview about it!"

"Yes, actually!" said Harry irritably.

"Wonderful, Harry," said Lockhart with delight, not bothering to ask what Harry actually meant. "I'll see you in my office after dinner tonight. But first, I'll give you some advice on how to handle interviews."

"No," said Harry, trying to rush through the whole ordeal. "I need to get to potions class right now!"

"It's fine, Harry," Lockhart claimed. "Snape won't mind. You need to prepare yourself ahead of time for the interview, as I myself have done on countless occasions!"

Harry tried to walk away, but Lockhart easily caught up with him. Then the defence teacher started giving 'advice' to Harry on how to handle interviews. By the time it was finished, Harry realized that his potions lesson started five minutes ago. Upon walking into Snape's classroom (with an irritable look on his face), Harry found a seat next to Neville. Snape spotted Harry walking in and was about to get onto him for being late, but stopped when he spotted the annoyed look on the raven haired Gryffindor's face. This shocked the Slytherins in the classroom (especially Draco and his goons), making them wonder what Harry must've done to render Snape speechless.

'Lily!' thought Snape in utter shock. 'He has Lily's eyes! I remember seeing those very eyes that day he was explaining his life outside of school to Minerva and myself! How did I not spot the eyes Lily had when I saw him in his first ever potions class?'

Snape had to return to teaching the lesson when he realized that his thoughts were wasting time. Even Neville and Hermione were wondering what must've happened to Snape that made him not get on to Harry for being late. Harry had a free period before lunch and once it started, he made a beeline for Gryffindor Tower. Then he got out some parchment and started writing a letter to Amelia, explaining the full scoop of his life before Hogwarts. Harry realized that Fred and George were right that Amelia wouldn't accept bribes from anybody, and now it was time for the Dursleys to face justice for once. Harry also decided to write about how his former headmistress at St. Grogery's Primary School accepted bribes to keep quiet about the Dursleys' abusive treatment towards him. After folding the letter up, Harry went to the owlery to tie the letter to Hedwig's leg and send it to the head of the DMLE. As soon as Harry walked through the doorway to the inside on the owlery, Hedwig flew down once she spotted her owner and landed on a perch close to him, and holding a leg out.

"This letter is for Amelia Bones, girl," stated Harry as he stroke Hedwig's feathers and gave her some owl treats. "Don't let anybody suspicious get ahold of it, okay? It's urgent that she gets it!"

Hedwig hooted softly and nibbed one of Harry's ears affectionately before taking off. When Harry made it back inside and over to the stairs, he spotted Ron looking all desperate as he ran. Then he dashed up the stairs going up the the second floor corridors. Harry finally understood Ron's desperation when he spotted Millicent Bulstrode strolling by.

"Oh Ronnie," Millicent called out sweetly as she looked around the corridors, with her mouth between her hands. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! I know you're around here somewhere, there's no point in hiding!"

"I know where Ron went," Harry told Millicent, pointing a finger in the right direction. "He went up to the second floor corridor."

"Thank you, Harry," said Millicent gratefully. "Oh, be cautious when wandering the corridors. Professor Lockhart is looking for you. He claims that you and him have some kind of interview later tonight. I heard him saying something like that when I saw him walking down the corridors."

"Thank you for the heads up, Millicent," said Harry, equally grateful. "Good luck finding Ronald."

"And good luck with Daphne, too." said Millicent.

Then she ran up the stairs to continue her pursuit of Ron. Harry was surprised with how fast Millicent ran, despite her bulkiness. Still, Harry had to stay out of Lockhart's sights, so he started making his way back to Gryffindor Tower (taking any detour he could find). After making it back, Harry went to work on his homework while he waited for lunch. Once it was lunchtime, Harry made sure to be aware of his surroundings as he walked to the Great Hall, to reduce the odds of Lockhart spotting him. At the same time, Daphne was returning from the owlery after having the next letter sent to her dad. When she walked into the Great Hall, Daphne spotted Harry sitting at the end of Gryffindor table that was close to the double doors, and he had yet to be accompanied by anybody. Daphne decided to take a seat across from Harry in an attempt to surprise him.

"Hello, Harry!" Daphne greeted with a smile on her face, making Harry jump in surprise.

"Oh, hi Daph," said Harry, returning the smile. "This is a surprise! I thought we only had to sit at our house tables."

"That's just for feasts or some other special occasion," stated Daphne. "It's mentioned in the rulebook, to try and promote inter house friendships."

"That makes sense," agreed Harry. "If we only had to be friends with those in our own house, then Hogwarts wouldn't be all that fun."

"I concur," said Daphne. "That rule wouldn't have gone over too well with most of the students."

"Daphne, what are you doing at the lions' table?" Draco demanded as soon as he walked up to her. "You're not supposed to be friendly with them, especially Potter!"

"Sod off, Malfoy!" snapped Daphne. "I don't need any of your kind telling me who I can or can't be friendly with!"

"You're supposed to preparing to be the next Lady Malfoy," said Draco irritably. "How many times must I…"

"Actually, Malfoy, I no longer have to worry about that," Daphne retorted. "You can even ask Harry!"

"Yes," said Harry. "When you called up that midnight duel with me last year and you backed out while I still went to the trophy room, you sacrificed that marriage contract to me."

"And since your father has already been arrested," stated Daphne. "You won't be able to use that cowardly 'my father will hear about this' defence of yours!"

The other students close by were watching the ordeal with deep interest. They were amused by the fact that Draco was foolish enough to call up a duel and back out at the last second. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were puzzled as they, too witnessed the conversation. Professor Dumbledore was panicking inwardly at the revelation, but otherwise kept a straight face.

'How did I miss that?' thought the headmaster desperately. 'This wasn't what I had in mind! Harry mustn't be interacting with somebody in a neutral family, those people are bad influences. Now that Miss Weasley has already been expelled and arrested, I don't know how I'm going to come up with plans that are any better, if I can do so that is!'

Draco stomped over to the Slytherin table in frustration, but at the same time blaming Harry for the whole thing instead of admitting what he did and taking responsibility. Daphne started properly introducing herself when those who were Harry's real friends took seats nearby (besides Neville, who she already met long ago). The rest of lunchtime past by uneventfully, then the students began heading off to their afternoon lessons. After returning to his office, Dumbledore sat down at his desk and started thinking over some possibly better plans.

Later that day (coincidentally when afternoon lessons ended for the day), Hedwig made it to the window where Amelia's office at the Ministry of Magic was located. It was closed, so Hedwig tapped the window with her beak. This got Amelia's attention, so she got up and opened the window to let Hedwig in. As the snowy owl flew in, Amelia notice a letter to it's leg and untied it. The head of the DMLE gave the owl some treats before it took off. Then Amelia unfolded the letter and read it, which said:

 _Amelia,_

 _I'm not sure if you ever found out, but my life before and outside of Hogwarts was never a happy one. The Dursleys abused me left and right for even the most minor of infractions. I was also alone and friendless because my cousin and his gang scared off any kid who tried to befriend me. I was also ordered to do any chore, even if it was unreasonable. I was also forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs until my Hogwarts acceptance letters started coming, as that was when I was given my cousin's second bedroom. Anytime in primary school when I tried getting help by reporting my cousin and his gang bullying me to a teacher or if a teacher saw what was happening and tried to help me, it always backfired on me. Dudley and his gang escaped punishment while the teachers who tried helping me were blacklisted because my uncle bribed the headmistress into ignoring the signs of abuse on me and make sure that my cousin and his friends didn't have to get punished. My uncle's sister is also just as bad, if not worse because she allows her favourite dog named Ripper to terrorize me whenever possible. On my cousin's tenth birthday, I accidentally stepped on the dog's paw, but the dog chased me out into the backyard and up a tree. Neither my aunt, uncle, nor my uncle's sister helped me, they just laughed at the whole fiasco as if a dog terrorizing me wasn't a big deal. I don't think they would've cared if the dog managed to maul me to death._

 _Do you or somebody in the ministry know any adult who is familiar with St. Grogery's Primary School? That's where I went to school before attending Hogwarts. I've dealt with too many cases of facing injustice and I can't take it anymore. My relatives also had bars put over my window after I got that warning not to use underage magic, but I wasn't the culprit. The Malfoys' house elf, Dobby did that to prevent me from going back to Hogwarts. Despite reporting my relatives' abuse to Professor Dumbledore, he still sent me back there without a reason why._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Harry Potter_

Amelia was outraged at the fact that Harry spent his Pre-Hogwarts days being abused. She remembered asking Albus what happened to Harry after Voldemort's downfall, but the headmaster of Hogwarts wouldn't tell. Realizing that a muggle school headmistress ignored the signs of abuse on Harry, Amelia got up to find one particular trainee auror. Amelia found the one witch she was looking for, the trainee auror had bubblegum pink hair that turned purple and then sapphire-blue.

"Tonks," Amelia spoke to the trainee auror. "Does anybody in your family know of anything about this muggle school called St. Grogery's Primary School? Harry Potter sent me a letter here, explaining his life before reentering the wizarding world."

"It sounds familiar," said the witch who went by Tonks. "Some relatives on my dad's side of the family may know about that. But why was Harry in the muggle world? My mum told me that Sirius Black was Harry's godfather and named guardian."

"Albus must've placed Harry with his muggle relatives," said Amelia. "The letter Harry sent mentioned Dumbledore sending Harry back to the Dursleys over the summer holidays. That implies that Dumbledore put Harry there, but he never would say why."

"I'll send a letter to my dad when I get the chance," said Tonks. "But I'll ask around the ministry and see if they have any relatives raised in the muggle world and see if they know anybody who may have worked at St. Grogery's Primary School."

"Thank you for your help, Tonks," said Amelia gratefully. "We'll also need to make sure Harry is placed with a loving and caring family when the summer holidays draw nearer and nearer."

"I concur," said Tonks. "I'd get better get that task taken care of."

So Tonks walked away while Amelia went back to her office. Something was also telling Amelia that Sirius Black was innocent, given the fact that she never heard about him getting a trial and that made the head of the DMLE very suspicious. If he was the traitor and murderer of those muggles, then why would Lily and James name him as Harry's guardian and godfather? Amelia never believed Sirius to be guilty and if her instincts were correct, then Sirius more than likely got a kangaroo court. Something needed to be done about that, but the evidence was going to be hard to find.

Back at Hogwarts, classes were finished for the day. Harry saw that Ron was a bit jumpy and looking all around him. The redhead was probably making sure not to cross paths with Millicent. This turned out to be a futile attempt because Millicent quickly found Ron, much to his horror and the amusement of the many students.

"Oh there you are, Ronnie," said Millicent as she spotted the redhead. "I've been looking all over for you! I'm looking forward to getting to know you better, maybe finding an empty classroom would do wonders for that!"

Ron screamed as he turned around and tried running away, but the bulky Slytherin girl chased after him. Ron saw that the faster he tried running, Millicent seemed to be able to catch up to him effortlessly. Many of the students witnessing the ordeal (including Harry) were all rolling around on the floor, laughing in hysterics. Millicent managed to catch up to Ron and wrap both of her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Oooooooh, it's great to see ya, Ronnie," said Millicent with a big smile on her face. "There's an empty classroom close by here, so we can start getting to know each other better there! We'd make a potentially handsome couple, methinks! Maybe we have much more in common than both of us realize!"

So Millicent started carrying Ron (with her arms still wrapped around his waist) over to an abandoned classroom. Ron began mock crying in a pathetic attempt to get out of his predicament, which fell on deaf ears. The witnessing students were finding the whole thing funny, so they kept laughing.

"I wonder how long that will be discussed?" said Harry while smirking.

"A long time," said Neville. "Ronald's mock crying just made it funnier!"

"I concur," said Hermione. "Maybe Millicent will put lipstick on and give Ronald plenty of kisses on his face."

"If that turns out to be the case, then I'm gonna wish I had a camera," said Harry, making many other students laugh harder. "But then again, how will the pictures get taken without Ronald noticing? Even if one managed to get pictures, the teachers will likely confiscate them."

"Yeah," said Hermione. "But either way, he won't hear the end of it. Ronald is definitely receiving more of his comeuppance."

"I think this'll teach him the hard way to be careful for what you wish for," stated Neville. "I can't believe he would imply that he would be more concerned with having fame and glory over a loving and caring family."

Harry and Hermione nodded their heads in agreement as they continued towards Gryffindor Tower to work on homework before dinner. Harry had no idea that there were more surprises awaiting him. Back at the ministry, Amelia was going over some more paperwork while pondering her thoughts.

'Friday afternoon I think will do wonders,' thought Amelia. 'Those Dursleys will be facing justice, and so will the headmistress of Harry's primary school very soon. The blacklisted teachers should get some compensation and vindication, too! But that'll take some time because they may have different jobs by now.'

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to thank 'cornholio4' for coming up with the idea of the Dursleys not being the only ones to face justice, but the headmistress facing charges too, and the blacklisted teachers eventually getting compensation and vindication.**


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: As usually mentioned, I only own this fanfic, the rest belongs to J.K. Rowling. No copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Eleven**

Back in the juvenile section in the ministry jail cells (one where the female youth offenders were kept), Ginny continued dreading her stay. She still wouldn't accept that 'her' Harry wouldn't be interested in her. Ginny had just been put into an isolated cell after a counseling session and it didn't go well. The wizarding counselor kept trying to persuade her into accepting that Harry wasn't her's and never would be, but Ginny just refused to believe it. Upon being asked why she tried attacking Hermione, Ginny just defended her actions by claiming she wasn't 'in her right mind' because of the cursed diary's powers. That resulted in Ginny getting taken to a healer to undergo tests. The diagnostic spells revealed that Ginny had still been in her right mind at the time she was arrested, making Ginny realize that she was only possessed anytime she wrote in the cursed diary. This also resulted in having her stay in juvenile detention extended until sometime in the middle of July, much to her dismay. The other juvies warned Ginny not to do anything that could cause her sentence to be extended, and she learned that the hard way.

'This is gonna take an even longer period of time!' thought Ginny desperately.

Back at Hogwarts, everybody was heading to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry spotted Daphne and Tracey sitting by the end of the Slytherin closest to the double doors. Harry decided to summon up his Gryffindor courage and sit with Daphne to return the favour.

"Hello, Daph!" Harry greeted.

"Hi Harry," said Daphne as she looked up and smiled at him. "Did you decide to return the favour?"

"Yes," said Harry as he took a seat across from Daphne. "I thought it was best to keep things fair, since you sat with me at the Gryffindor table at lunchtime."

"That's nice of you, Harry," said Daphne, her cheeks turning red. "You're sure showing the traits of Gryffindor here!"

Harry also found himself blushing and smiling. Tracey was amused while watching the reactions between Harry and Daphne. Harry realized that there were plenty of decent Slytherins (at least half of the snakes were impressed to see Harry and Daphne helping to end that pointless rivalry). Only the pure blood supremacist Slytherins refused to accept that, but Draco was the worst on that matter. He marched over to Harry to get another rise out of him.

"Potter!" Draco growled. "How dare you sit at the Slytherin table!"

"I don't care about that rivalry, Malfoy," Harry retorted. "It doesn't make any real sense. All you're really doing is living in the past!"

"That ain't my problem, Potter," Draco sneered. "Now…"

"It actually _is_ your problem, Malfoy," Daphne sneered back. "You won't get yourself anywhere while living in the past!"

"No one asked you, Daphne," snapped Draco. Then he turned his attention back to Harry. "Now, I advise you to go back to your house table, or else…"

"I have a better idea, Malfoy," said Harry irritably. "Get a life!"

That resulted in some snickers coming from the decent Slytherins and the Ravenclaws (since their table was the closest to the Slytherin's table). Tori happened to be sticking her tongue out at Draco behind his back, as her way of agreeing with Harry. The Malfoy scion certainly needed to get a life, but he refused to do that rather than acting all arrogant like his father. Draco walked over to his seat, but not before glaring at Harry for 'making a fool out of him.' Professors McGonagall and Snape were impressed with Harry and Daphne putting in some joint effort to end the rivalry (both were grinning as they witnessed Harry interacting with Daphne and Tracey). Professor Dumbledore wouldn't acknowledge that Harry wasn't in any real danger.

'I don't see why Harry won't forgive Mr. Ronald Weasley,' thought the headmaster. 'We must give second chances. It's the only way to bring peace!'

After dinner was over, everybody left the Great Hall and back to their respective common rooms. Before Harry could put as much distance between himself and Lockhart, the incompetent defence teacher spotted Harry and stalked after him. Harry couldn't really run due to the corridors being a bit overcrowded, allowing Lockhart to catch up to Harry. Once he did, Lockhart grabbed Harry by the arm and started dragging him away.

"I was afraid the interview would get cancelled, Harry," said Lockhart gleefully, while ignoring Harry's seething in anger. "So I thought I'd be nice to you and help escort you to my classroom. This'll be the best interview in the whole, wide world!"

'Just let me go!' thought Harry angrily and desperately. 'I don't want this stupid interview!'

They reached Lockhart's classroom, joined by some members of the Daily Prophet some minutes later. The interview that followed felt like an eternity for Harry and he knew, from the start that Lockhart was just using him for his own gain. After the interview was finished, Harry left (angrier than ever) and began stomping his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

'That's it!' thought Harry. 'The dunderhead has finally crossed the line. The next time he calls up another one of those stupid so called interviews, I'm just gonna resist! I'm also gonna write another letter to Amelia regarding Lockhart's crimes against me!'

(Scene break)

It was finally Friday afternoon, the day the Dursleys and those in the muggle world who did Harry wrong were going to be facing justice. The last few days had been a hassle and Amelia found out (from Tonks) that one of the teachers unjustly fired from her teaching job at St. Grogery's was Tonks' aunt (her father's sister). Amelia personally knew Tonks' parents and they were nice people, so naturally the head of the DMLE was more than determined to bring the wrongdoers to justice. Once they were ready, Amelia, Tonks and a few aurors apparated over to an alley near Privet Drive, transfigured their robes into muggle clothes and started making a beeline for the Dursleys' house. Once they made it, they approached the front door and knocked. The door opened a minute later and in the doorway stood a woman with short curly brown hair, a horse-like face and twice the usual amount of neck.

"What do you want?" asked the woman.

"Petunia Dursley," said Amelia, showing identity and warrants. "Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement! You're…"

"I don't recognize the warrants," said Petunia hastily. "Now get…"

"We don't care if you recognize the warrants or not!" snapped Amelia. "Now you're under arrest for multiple counts of child abuse, multiple counts of child neglect, multiple counts of child endangerment, multiple counts of child slave labour and attempted murder."

Petunia found herself with wands pointed at her, so she reluctantly got down on the ground. Then she was placed in handcuffs and pulled up onto her feet.

"Now Petunia," said Amelia. "You don't have to say anything as it may harm your defence in court. Anything you do choose to say can be given in evidence."

Petunia was undeniably scared when she realized that her actions have finally caught up with her. She was taken to a ministry holding cell in the adults' section.

"What do we do now, Amelia?" asked a dark skin auror.

"We wait, Kingsley," said Amelia. "Harry's uncle is bound to arrive home any moment. Once he's arrested, then we'll head over to St. Grogery's Primary School and arrest the headmistress. She's been accepting bribes from Harry's uncle Vernon and one of the teachers who was blacklisted was Tonks' paternal aunt."

Suddenly, Amelia came up with a great idea on how to pull the stunt off. She advised all the other aurors to either find hiding spots in the house or use the disillusionment charm, that way Uncle Vernon would be thrown off track and by the time he realized what was going on, he wouldn't be able to escape. It was a few minutes later when a crunch of gravel was heard coming from the driveway, followed by a door closing. Once the whale of a man made his way inside and over to the kitchen, the doors closed and Vernon found wands pointed at him.

"Vernon Dursley," said Amelia, showing him warrants and identification. "Amelia Bones, head of…"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE," screamed Vernon. "I'LL HAVE YOU…"

"You shouldn't talk to the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement like that," snapped Amelia. "Now, these warrants are issued to have you arrested!"

"I don't recognize them, now get out!" growled Vernon, pointing to the doors.

"You do realize that it doesn't matter if you recognize them or not," Amelia snapped again. "You're under arrest for multiple counts of child abuse, multiple counts of child neglect, multiple counts of child endangerment, multiple counts of bribery, multiple counts of child slave labour and attempted murder! All of these crimes involved Harry James Potter, head of the most ancient and most noble house of Potter."

"Here, just take this and get out!" said Vernon, pulling some money out of his pocket and showing to Amelia. "The freak doesn't…"

Amelia retaliated by angrily pointing her wand at the handful of cash and setting it ablaze (to prove that she meant business), much to Vernon's shock. Then some aurors prepared to arrest the Dursley patriarch.

"Did you really think that bribery was going to work with me?!" snapped Amelia. "That'll also be a count of attempted bribery added to your record!"

"Now Vernon," said Kingsley as the Dursley patriarch was being placed in handcuffs. "You don't have to say anything, for it may harm your defence in court. Anything you do choose to say can be given in evidence!"

Vernon glared at Amelia as he was pulled up onto his feet and taken to the ministry holding cells. Amelia wondered where Vernon must've gotten all that money and that was one question she was definitely going to ask him later. Other questions including where Marge lived and which secondary school Dudley and his gang were currently attending. Now it was time for the head of the DMLE to confront Dumbledore… again, this time for placing Harry in an abusive environment. Just before leaving, Amelia could feel some kind of magic (the same kind when she approached the house), so she did some testing and discovered that there were blood wards around the Dursleys' house. The spell checking also revealed that the blood wards were cast by Albus Too-Many-Names Dumbledore, angering Amelia further. Once Vernon and Petunia were in custody, Amelia and the other aurors accompanying her apparated over to outside the wards of Hogwarts. When they arrived in the Great Hall, dinner was already in session. Some of the teachers were shocked to see Amelia and some aurors back within such a short time period.

"Ah, Amelia," Dumbledore greeted. "What may I…"

"Can it, Albus," snapped Amelia. "Now it's time for you to answer to my questions at the ministry!"

"If it's about Harry, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to…" Albus began speaking.

"As a matter of fact, it is," said Amelia irritably. "How do you explain the blood wards around the Dursleys' house?"

"Blood wards, Albus?!" asked Professor McGonagall, outraged. "Really, Albus? You put up blood wards?"

"Yes, Minerva," Dumbledore reluctantly admitted (with his deputy headmistress and potions teacher shooting glares at the headmaster). "It was the only way to keep Harry safe."

"How do they work?" said Amelia adamantly. "I haven't heard much of any of this before, so I insist you tell me!"

"Well," Albus began explaining. "Lily's sacrifice that night gave Harry strong protection, so in order for that to work, I placed him with his mother's sister. That was to ensure that Harry would be safe from Voldemort and his death eaters for as long as he can call the Dursleys' place _home_ , and as long as Petunia at least took him in willingly."

"Harry," Amelia called out as she turned her attention to him sitting at the Gryffindor table. "Would you come up here, please?"

Harry nodded his head, got up and walked up to Amelia standing in front of Dumbledore. Harry gave the headmaster a distrustful look once he approached Amelia.

"Yes, Amelia?" asked Harry.

"Would you explain to Dumbledore about your life in that house?" said Amelia.

"Yes," said Harry. Then he faced Albus. "My relatives abused me left and right. They made it clear to me for as long as I can remember that they never wanted me. They didn't love me, they hated me! I even told you so, headmaster. But you never listened to me, you just dismissed that as foolish nonsense."

"You see, Albus," said Amelia. "When I went to the Dursleys to have Petunia and Vernon arrested, I felt some kind of magic when the aurors and myself approached the door to that house. I did some spell checks and found that they were blood wards, and the effects were almost nonexistent!"

"See, Albus," said Professor McGonagall in an 'I told you so' voice. "I warned you what kind of people those muggles were. But no, you just went with your 'Albus knows best' attitude and left Harry on the doorstep without _any_ second thoughts. What if Harry had been kidnapped? Anything could've happened to him."

"And Harry was genuinely confused when I gave him his acceptance letter personally," said Hagrid, outraged. "He knew nothing about the wizarding world or the truth about how his parents died!"

"Given Petunia's reaction," said Amelia. "That implied that she only took Harry in grudgingly."

"She still took him in." Albus tried defending his actions.

"You said that the blood wards would work if it was willingly," said Amelia. "And if my intuition is correct, Harry would've also needed to be raised with love and affection in order for the charms to work to it's fullest. But those people abused Harry left and right, never gave him any love or affection and just used him as a slave!"

"I only wanted what was best for Harry." Albus tried defending his actions again.

"But that wasn't what was best for him in truth," said Amelia sternly. "Even if your intentions were good, it still backfired big time! No more of these misdirection games, Albus. I'm gonna have to place you under arrest!"

Albus reluctantly sighed in defeat and stepped around the staff table. Once he was next to the headmaster's podium, Albus was placed in magic suppression handcuffs.

"Now Albus," said Amelia. "You don't have to say anything, as it can harm your defence in court. Anything you do choose to say can be given in evidence."

As Albus was being led out, the students stared at the ordeal in shock. For the first time in decades, Albus was utterly stumped. He felt that Vernon and Petunia would've seen reason to raise Harry like a son, but they just did the opposite of what they were instructed to do. Before the auror escorting Albus out made it to the door, the school governors approached them to confront Dumbledore.

"Albus, we received word on what was going on," said the head governor. "We can't believe what you did to Harry! Now, we'll give you the option of retiring from your post as headmaster or you can risk getting fired! The choice is yours."

"I'll retire," said Albus, knowing his actions have finally caught with him. "I know getting fired won't look good on one's resume."

Once Albus was escorted out and over to a ministry holding cell, the governors walked into the Great Hall to ask Professor McGonagall if she wanted to be the headmistress. Before they could, Harry came up with another idea.

"Amelia," said Harry. "I think Professor Lockhart needs to be arrested! He's been harassing me for much of the year, and he even tried 'mending' the bones in my arm during the quidditch match involving the rogue bludger. I even told him not to do it, but he tried anyway and ended up removing the bones in my arm instead."

This resulted in the other aurors pointing their wands at Lockhart (who was sweating profusely). The incompetent defence teacher also found himself placed in magic suppression handcuffs, getting told his rights and led out of the castle and over to a ministry holding cell. Harry was happy that his aunt and uncle had been arrested so far.

"Harry," said Amelia. "Do you know which secondary school your cousin currently attends?"

"Yes, it's called Smeltings Academy," stated Harry. "The same secondary school my so called uncle went to."

"And what about where your uncle's sister lives?" asked Amelia.

"That I'm not 100% sure," said Harry. "All I know is that it's somewhere out in the country."

"We'll get those two arrested, followed by your primary school headmistress, Harry." assured Amelia.

"Thank you, Amelia!" said Harry gratefully.

After she left, Harry returned to his dinner. The head of the governors asked Professor McGonagall if she wanted to be the new headmistress and she accepted, with Professor Flitwick becoming the deputy headmaster (but still the head of Ravenclaw house). Classes next week were cancelled due to the circumstances. Now Harry had to somehow prepare for his relatives' trials.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: An anonymous reviewer known as 'Nicholas' suggested that Uncle Vernon try bribing Amelia, who responded by setting the money ablaze to show Vernon how much she meant business. So I'd like to give a shoutout to that reviewer.**

 **The user 'Jay Saxena' even came up with the idea of Amelia planning to investigate where the Dursleys were getting the money for all those times of bribing people, so that will be explained in a future chapter. Stay tuned for more!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: As usually mentioned, I just own this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Twelve**

The headmistress of St. Grogery's Primary School was going over some paperwork when she heard a knock at the door. Upon calling for the person (or possibly people) to come in, the headmistress was shocked to see the superintendent and some police officers. There was even a woman with bubblegum pink hair accompanied by a stern looking woman in some kind of black formal wear, red hair turning gray and a monocle over one eye. There were also some other people in similar formal wear. The headmistress looked at the woman with bubblegum pink hair in shock.

"Miss Tonks," said the headmistress. "What a surprise to…"

"I don't feel the same, headmistress Finster," said Tonks coldly. "How could you just blacklist my aunt like that?"

"I-I was given m-money to o-o-overlook the whole abuse thing." said headmistress Finster, sweating profusely.

"Overlooking abuse on poor Harry James Potter was inexcusable," snapped Tonks. "I remember a couple times at least when my aunt brought me here due to those bring a relative to work days. I remember the second one of those I remember having gotten suspicious of seeing five very big kids beating up and antagonizing a much smaller kid, who I recognized as Harry Potter."

"Well," said headmistress Finster. "When I was given money by Vernon Dursley, he claimed that money was more important."

"Only people like him think so," said Tonks as she gave the terrified headmistress a nasty glare. "I even told my aunt about those kids beating up Harry Potter, in which she reported it to you. But what did you do? You just accepted bribes from people who have no problem abusing children, then you put my aunt on a blacklist, punished Harry unjustly and allowed those five much bigger kids to escape punishment. My aunt was in tears when that happened, I even saw it when she came back to the classroom to pack up her belongings. You knew darn well that teachers and other school officials are trained to look for signs of child abuse and you failed tremendously in that duty. Poor Harry had a hard time finding an adult he could trust. Now where did the Dursleys, or at least Vernon get money from to bribe you?"

"He wouldn't say, he claimed that it wasn't a big deal," said headmistress Finster. "I do know that he's the director of Grunnings, since his son, Dudley mentioned that to me one day he and his friends were called up to my office."

"Well, Vernon and Petunia have already been arrested," said Tonks. "It's time for you to face the consequences, too."

"I'm Amelia Bones," said Amelia, showing the headmistress some identification and warrants. "Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"You're fired, Miss Finster!" declared the superintendent.

"Now, Miss Finster," said a muggle police officer as the former headmistress was placed in handcuffs. "You don't have to say anything, as it may harm your defence in court. Anything you do choose to say can be given in evidence."

Headmistress Finster was led out, escorted into a police car and taken into custody. Once that was taken care of, Amelia, Tonks and the other aurors thanked the superintendent, then they left the school, found a nearby alley and apparated back to the ministry. Now they needed to get this Marge Dursley's whereabouts out of Vernon. The Dursley patriarch wouldn't tell Amelia nor the other aurors anything despite warnings that they already found out about Harry's life before he was reintroduced into the wizarding world. Vernon's unwillingness to cooperate was taking so long that Amelia decided that tomorrow was when they would get Marge, Dudley and his friends arrested.

(Scene break)

After breakfast the next day, Harry headed outside and over to his favourite spot by the Black Lake. He was getting a little nervous at inevitably facing his abusive relatives at their trials. Harry could tell that his relatives would try to plead not guilty, even though they were undeniably guilty of their crimes. Harry was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard sounds of feet approaching him. He quickly turned around, but relaxed when he saw Daphne, Tracey and a blonde haired girl who Harry guessed was Daphne's sister (due to the resemblance).

"Sorry, Harry," chorused the girls. "We didn't mean to frighten you!"

"It's all good," assured Harry. "Just been lost in my thoughts."

"Is it about the inevitable of you know what?" asked Daphne.

"Uh huh," said Harry, knowing exactly what Daphne referring to. "The thought of facing it is making me somewhat fidgety."

"I understand, Harry," Daphne whispered to him as soon as she sat down next to him and grabbed a hold of his hand for comfort. "Don't let them get to you. They're the ones who should ashamed, not you."

Tracey and Tori were standing close by, but not close enough to get in the way. They didn't want to disturb Harry and Daphne being in their own world. After a few minutes, Harry and Daphne gave Tracey and Tori permission to join them, with Tori introducing herself to Harry. Once he took some breaths, Harry told Tracey and Tori everything he told Daphne about his life before Hogwarts. This resulted in Tracey and Tori taking turns giving Harry hugs (while their eyes filled with tears), with Daphne waiting patiently for her turn (just so neither Tracey nor Tori would see her as being selfish). Harry couldn't help but smile as Tracey and Tori gave him hugs, as it made him feel like he mattered. Once they finished, Daphne and Tracey remembered something and they faced Harry.

"Harry, you won't believe what Daph and I came across before we left the Slytherin common room before breakfast." said Tracey while trying to keep her laughter under control.

"What was it you saw?!" asked Harry, intrigued.

"We saw Millicent writing something on parchment," said Daphne, also trying not to laugh. "We even heard her mentioning that they were mash notes for that Ronald."

"No way!" said Harry with surprise in his voice. "Did she manage to give any to him?"

"Not that we're aware of," said Daphne. "But maybe it's already happened by now."

"Even if the weasel tries to ignore them," Tori deduced. "Millicent won't give in since she has a crush on him."

"It won't matter how terrified it makes him," stated Tracey. "It also seems like any time he tries running away, Millicent just manages to catch up to him."

They heard some footsteps that appeared to be running. It turned out to be from Ron and he seemed to be all out of breath. Upon spotting Harry, Ron approached him while paying attention to his surroundings.

"Harry, mate," said Ron while panting. "I need your help! I can't get Bulstrode off my tail. I hate those mash notes that she tries to give me. If I have to…"

"Oh Ronnie!" Millicent's voice called out in the distance.

Ron gasped and ran off with his eyes widened in terror, trying to avoid the bulky Slytherin girl at all costs. Harry, Daphne, Tori and Tracey were amused and they had more trouble trying to hold their laughter in. Millicent jogged by a minute or so later and she approached the four before her trying not to laugh.

"Have you seen Ronnie anywhere?" asked Millicent.

"Yeah, he ran by not too long ago," said Harry, pointing to the direction Ron started running. "He ran that way. He was looking for a secret meeting place outside the castle for you and him."

"Wow, thanks a bunch, Harry," said Millicent gratefully. "Maybe he'll quit ignoring my notes and perhaps he'll be interested in some poetry I wrote especially for him!"

"He'll definitely like that," said Daphne while smirking. "He's an avid listener for the best written poetry ever!"

"If you continue to have trouble giving the weasel those notes," Tori suggested. "You can find a house elf and ask him or her to give the notes to him while he's asleep. The weasel enjoys surprises and maybe he'll eventually return your feelings for him."

"If that doesn't work, you can always ask Fred and George for some pointers." said Tracey.

"Again, thank you," said Millicent. "I best go and find him."

As the bulky Slytherin started running off in the direction Ron ran, Harry, Daphne, Tori and Tracey finally stopped holding their laughter in. Harry had to get down on all fours to prevent himself from falling forward because of laughing so hard. Daphne, Tori and Tracey were rolling around on the ground in hysterics while holding their sides.

Meanwhile at Smeltings Academy, Dudley and his gang were loitering outside near the school sign. They were smoking cigarettes while trying to pass the time before lunch. Dudley was enjoying his reputation as one of the big boys around the school, thanks to his father's influence. If he hadn't bribed the teachers to ensure that he'd pass and move on to the next year rather than repeat it, then Dudley wouldn't have made it far (or so he thought). Upon spotting the deputy headmaster walking out through the front doors, Dudley and his gang members smooshed the cigarettes and tried to act innocent.

"Mr. Dursley," said the deputy headmaster. "You and your friends need to report to the headmistress' office this instant."

"But lunchtime is drawing nearer," said Dudley while pouting. "Can it wait?"

"No, it can't," said the deputy headmaster sternly, motioning with his thumb. "Now off you go!"

Dudley and his gang groaned in annoyance, but they reluctantly complied. Besides, Dudley would get out of his punishment like always (or so they all thought). When the five arrived in the headmistress' office, she was accompanied by some weird looking people in strange formal wear. Dudley and his gang smiled innocently when they walked in, but the headmistress didn't buy it this time.

"You five won't be getting out of it this time." said the headmistress.

"Why is that?!" asked Dudley rudely.

"Because you five are under arrest," stated the headmistress. "For many charges that you five committed over the years."

"Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Amelia identified herself, showing some warrants. "Many of the charges filed against you were crimes committed against Harry Potter, head of the most ancient and most noble house of Potter!"

"The freak was a waste of space," Dudley sneered. "Besides, my dad can just bribe you to call the whole thing off!"

"He tried that yesterday," Amelia informed Dudley. "But I didn't accept it because I'm not a corrupt official. Now, place your hands behind your back. That goes for your friends, too."

"Now come on, don't be so…" Dudley tried talking his way out of trouble.

"Down on the ground, Dudley," ordered a woman with bubblegum pink hair (who Dudley and his gang vaguely recognized). "Since you need your memory refreshed, I'm Nymphadora Tonks and my aunt was one of the teachers at St. Grogery's who tried to help poor Harry once. But what happened? The headmistress there blacklisted her because of your dad."

"That's right, Dudley," said Tonks' aunt once she stepped out from behind the other ministry official. "I was given a job here not long after getting blacklisted. Once I heard about you 'passing' onto the next year, I became _very_ suspicious. Once I read about your parents' arrest in the papers, I saw that as a chance to make things right, once and for all!"

As soon as an auror tried to place Dudley in handcuffs, he started struggling to free himself while mock crying in an attempt to get out of trouble. Of course, this did nothing but make the situation worse, especially when Dudley started punching the auror, forcing another one to help hold him down.

"Alright, Dudley," said Amelia. "You're also charged with resisting arrest and assault and battery on an auror. You'd better stop before you make it worse."

"Now, Dudley," said Kingsley as soon as Dudley was pulled up onto his feet. "You don't have to say anything, as it may harm your defence in court. Anything you do choose to say can be given in evidence."

Once Dudley was led out, other aurors took turns in arrest Piers, Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon. Piers also tried the mock cry act and punching an auror, resulting in assault and battery on an auror and resisting arrest being added to his charges. Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon, somehow weren't that much of a problem. Once Dudley and his gang were taken into custody, Tonks and her aunt faced the headmistress.

"Thank you for helping my aunt," said Tonks gratefully. "It means alot!"

"You're welcome, Tonks," said the headmistress sincerely. "Your aunt has been a great addition to the school ever since she was hired."

Tonks knew it was time to leave, since Vernon's sister Marge was next to be arrested. Once Dudley and his gang were in custody, permission was granted to use Veritaserum on Vernon. After he told the aurors Marge's address, Amelia, Tonks and several more aurors apparated close to Marge's house, transfigured their ministry robes into muggle clothing and walked up to the house and knocked.

"What do you want?" Marge asked rudely, once she answered the door.

"Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Miss Marjorie Dursley," said Amelia, showing some identification and warrants. "You're under…"

"Don't be silly," sneered Marge. "There's no such thing as magic, and those warrants are fake as…"

"These are, indeed real warrants, Marge," snapped Amelia. "And don't give me any 'I don't recognize those warrants' excuses! Your brother, sister-in-law and nephew have already been arrested for many crimes committed against Harry James Potter!"

"The brat was a troublemaker," sneered Marge. "He needed whatev…"

"Your nephew was the real troublemaker," said Amelia sternly. "Now, get down on the ground and put your hands behind your back!"

"Ripper, sic these people!" Marge commanded her favourite bulldog.

Ripper obeyed and attempted to do so, but this resulted in Ripper getting blasted back with such force that the dog was killed on impact as soon as it hit the wall. Marge was utterly shocked to have witnessed her beloved Ripper getting killed. Then she turned to the people by her front door with a nasty glare.

"You'll be sorry to have done that!" growled Marge, raising a fist threateningly.

"That's a count of attempted murder on several aurors and a ministry official, and a count of assault as well," said Amelia angrily. "You'll also face a charge of attempted murder on Harry Potter when you let that dog terrorize him during Dudley's tenth birthday party, especially when Harry accidentally stepped on Ripper's paw. But even when that dog chased Harry outside and up a tree, you all just laughed as if it wasn't a big deal and how 'funny' you all thought it was. You didn't care if that dog was being aggressive towards Harry, and that's the attempted murder on Harry!"

"The brat deserved…" Marge started growling again.

She was met with some stinging hexes, which weren't having alot of effect. When a stunning spell was used, Marge was all dazed and this allowed the aurors to arrest her. After she was placed in handcuffs, the spell was undone and Marge was pulled up onto her feet.

"Now, Miss Dursley," said Amelia. "You don't have to say anything, as it may harm your defence in court. Anything you do choose to say can be given in evidence."

Marge glared at Amelia as she was led away and over to a ministry holding cell. Once that was taken care, Tonks went inside, found a telephone, dialed numbers on it (since she was familiar with the muggle world) to call for muggle police officers and animal control over to the house. The other bulldogs needed to be taken and given new homes.

Later that day, lunchtime was arriving at Hogwarts. Harry, Daphne and Tracey decided to join Tori at the Ravenclaw table. Professor McGonagall walked up to Harry shortly after he sat down.

"Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Amelia notified me that your cousin, your cousin's friends and your uncle's sister have been arrested a while ago."

"Thank you for informing me, professor," said Harry gratefully, as a smile formed on his face. "It's getting easier to open up now. But facing those people during their trial will be hard for me."

"This is what makes you a true Gryffindor, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Enjoy your lunch."

So Professor McGonagall walked back to the staff table. Harry felt Daphne grabbing one of his hands again and giving it a comforting squeeze. This helped Harry relax and in some way, it was helping him prepare for the inevitable of facing those who did him wrong during their trial.

'Daph continues to take my breath away! It's astonishing how she does that!' thought Harry as he and Daphne gave each other eye contact, followed by smiling at each other.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to give another shoutout to the anonymous reviewer 'Nicholas' for suggesting that Marge try siccing Ripper on Amelia and the other aurors.**


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: As usual, all I own is this fanfic. J.K. Rowling owns the rest, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Thirteen**

Albus sat in his holding cell, stunned that he was now in a ministry holding cell like a criminal awaiting trial. He couldn't figure out where and how his plans had gone wrong. But now there was no getting out of his predicament because he had failed Harry when he placed him on the Dursleys doorstep that night. Despite having been arrested and taken into custody himself, Gilderoy continued acting all arrogant and overconfident (assuming that he would be released because of his status as a celebrity).

Back at Hogwarts, lunch was already finishing up. Harry and his fellow quidditch teammates decided to practice (since classes were cancelled, and that gave them time to practice). Oliver was still eager to win the quidditch cup, so they grabbed their broomsticks and headed for the quidditch field. Daphne and Tracey decided to watch quidditch practice instead of heading back to their common room.

"Don't even think about it!" growled a voice that the two Slytherin girls had no trouble recognizing.

Daphne and Tracey turned around and saw Draco with his arms folded across his chest. He even had an angry look across his face, but neither Daphne nor Tracey were intimidated at all.

"Don't even think about what?" asked Daphne with a sneer.

"Watching the stupid lions practice quidditch," snapped Draco. "You're only supposed to watch our practice sessions!"

"And how often do you hold those?" asked Tracey, also with a sneer.

"Not as much," Draco boasted. "That's because we have the Nimbus 2001s!"

"Yeah, not to mention cheating," stated Daphne. "And it's anti-thanks to idiots like you and Flint 'promoting' that that's been 'helping' to give our house the bad rap! I'd rather watch some real practice that also promotes _good_ sportsmanship!"

"Me, too!" Tracey defiantly told Draco.

"That's the wrong thing to say," snarled Draco. "Flint won't appreciate any insults directed at him in any way!"

"We don't care, now leave us be!" chorused Daphne and Tracey in a stern voice.

Draco ignored their warning and attempted to charge at Daphne. But she was too quick, as she whipped her wand out and cast the full body bind on the Malfoy scion. Then Tracey transfigured the material of Draco's clothing into leather for good measure, then they continued on over to the quidditch stadium. Draco could feel the strange material making his body hot, but he couldn't do anything about it because he was still in the full body bind. Luckily Pansy strolled by a few minutes later and saw Draco in the bind. She undid the charm and also cancelled the transfigured clothing material back to it's original kind.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!" Draco responded as soon as he felt his skin breathing now.

"Who did this, Draco?" asked Pansy.

"Daphne and her best friend, Davis," said Draco with contempt in his voice. "I warned them not to go and watch the Gryffindorks quidditch practice, but they ignored it!"

"Well let's go confront them then." suggested Pansy.

"Great idea, Pansy!" said Draco, relieved that he still had somebody on his side. Then he and Pansy began heading to the quidditch stadium.

Meanwhile, Daphne and Tracey made it down to the quidditch stadium to watch the other three teams practice (Gryffindor especially). They spotted Neville and Hannah nearby (accompanied by Susan), so Daphne and Tracey walked up to them.

"Hey, y'all," Daphne and Tracey greeted Neville, Hannah and Susan. "Is it alright if we join you?"

"Sure!" said Neville, Hannah and Susan in unison.

So Daphne and Tracey took seats next to Neville on his left. The two Slytherin girls saw Neville and Hannah holding hands, much to their excitement (with grins on their faces).

"Hannah, how long ago did Neville ask you?" asked Daphne.

"Shortly after lunch ended," said Hannah ecstatically. "I was utterly surprised and I found myself unable to speak for several minutes!"

"Daphne, Tracey!" snapped the familiar voice of Pansy Parkinson (with Draco standing next to her). "How many times must we…"

"Don't bother," Daphne snapped back, as soon as she turned around (with Tracey, Neville, Hannah and Susan doing the same). "We don't care about that pointless rivalry, now leave us alone before we teach you a lesson that Malfoy was taught moments ago!"

"I'm gonna explain how things work in Slytherin House," said Draco in a threatening voice, to Daphne and Tracey. "Don't give me or Pansy any of that 'the whole rivalry thing is pointless' malarkey. The only quidditch practice you should be happy to see are ours!"

"Exactly!" sneered Pansy as she nodded her head in agreement.

"You only made it onto the team because your daddy bribed your teammates with those Nimbus 2001s," snapped Tracey. "We also know about what Hermione said, news travels fast. Hermione _did_ have a point, the players on the Gryffindor team never bought or bribed their way in. It was pure talent that got their placements!"

"Lies, Davis, all lies!" Draco and Pansy snapped back. "That mudblood does…"

This resulted in Draco and Pansy receiving a countless number of stinging hexes not only from Daphne and Tracey, but also from Neville, Hannah and Susan. Draco and Pansy began yipping like dogs, then they ran away screaming like toddlers on the verge of throwing a tantrum. Tori had been walking down to the stadium herself and when she heard Draco and Pansy ranting about 'mudbloods' (thus refusing to acknowledge that Hermione was right), the youngest Greengrass found a hiding spot and cast a spell on Draco that caused his drawers to fall to his ankles and expose his green boxers. Every time Draco pulled his trousers back up, they'd just fall right back down to his ankles and expose his boxers once more. Then Tori cast a charm on Pansy to make her speak in spoonerisms (something she and Daphne learned from Tracey, since she was a half-blood).

"Grermione Hanger is mead deat!" growled Pansy.

Tori was giggling at the two prejudiced Slytherins as they ran back to the school (with Draco having difficulty since the charm that made his drawers fall to his ankles was still in effect and it kept making him trip). Once Draco and Pansy were out of sight, Tori continued walking down to the quidditch stadium to watch the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams practice. She eventually found where Daphne and Tracey were with Neville, Hannah and Susan. Then Tori told them what she did to Draco and Pansy and they all started laughing.

(Scene break)

A couple more days had passed and it was time for the Dursleys (and the others who wronged Harry in some way) to stand trial. The ministry brought in a squib judge (who also worked as a muggle judge) at the Dursleys' best interest. As Harry was walking to breakfast, he was all shaking and trembling (since he got a letter from Amelia explaining when his relatives trial was going to be). The anticipation of facing his abusive relatives during their trial kept giving him the feeling of having butterflies in his stomach and caused him to lose his appetite. All Harry could do was just stare at his empty plate once he took a seat at the Gryffindor table, which didn't go unnoticed by his friends.

"Harry, you need to eat something." said Neville once he arrived and sat down next to Harry.

"I know," said Harry in understanding. "I just have a feeling that my so called uncle will plead not guilty. That would make him think that his punishment won't be as severe."

"I doubt the Wizengamot will find him not guilty," stated Neville. "Your relatives have been doing this for as long as you can remember, so they're still bound to face a heavy punishment. I'm with you!"

"We're with you too, Harry!" chorused Fred, George and Lee.

"You can count on us, too!" the Gryffindor chasers chorused.

"I'll be right there with you, Harry!" whispered Daphne softly with assurance in her voice, as she sat down next to Harry and grabbed a hold of his hand for comfort, allowing Harry to relax.

Even Hermione, Oliver, Tracey, Tori, Susan and Hannah gave Harry assurance that they were with him. Harry thanked all of them gratefully and grinned to prove it. So his appetite came back and piled his plate with breakfast. Once it was over, Harry and his friends were instructed to follow Professor McGonagall and Hagrid, then they walked to the school entrance to meet up with Amelia and some aurors. Then they all apparated (and side apparated all who were underage) over to the ministry. Courtroom five was where the trials were going to be held. Daphne and Tori spotted their father, Lord Greengrass.

"Daddy!" Daphne and Tori chorused as they ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"Daphne! Tori!" Lord Greengrass greeted his daughters back, giving them affectionate hugs.

"Here's Harry, daddy!" said Daphne, pointing to him.

"Hello Harry," Lord Greengrass greeted him in a friendly manner, holding a hand out. "I'm Lord Dennis Greengrass!"

"Nice to meet you, sir!" said Harry as he shook Dennis' hand. "Thank you again for the dress robes!"

"You're welcome, Harry," said Dennis, giving Harry a smile. "You don't have to thank me again!"

"Well, I thought thanking you in person would've been better than by letter," stated Harry. "Just to make sure you finally saw it for yourself how appreciative I was!"

Dennis nodded his head to show he understood. Then Harry and his friends walked into the courtroom to find seats in the audience section. Hagrid had to have a special chair conjured for him due to his enormous size. Mr and Mrs. Weasley arrived a minute later to help Hagrid and Professor McGonagall keep an eye on the kids. The Weasley patriarch and the Weasley matriarch sat in seats in front of Harry.

"Hello, Harry dear!" the Weasley parents greeted Harry.

"Hi Mr and Mrs. Weasley," Harry greeted back. "Thank you for the Christmas gifts!"

"You're welcome, Harry," said the Weasley parents. "Has Ron been giving you any trouble?"

"No," said Harry. "But if you don't mind me asking, how did you figure out that it was all Ron's idea to fly the car to the school?"

"Well, the fact that you've been raised in the muggle world was one of those clues, Harry," said Arthur. "Molly and I knew that you didn't have that much understanding about the restriction of underage magic. But Ron should've known better than to suggest that his idea was better."

"Plus, Ronald thinks he always has the answers," said Molly. "Arthur and I were impressed when we found out that you suggested in waiting by our car, which proved that you were acting more maturely than Ron."

"Oh okay," said Harry. "But I thought that being a participant was just as bad."

"Well, knowing Ron, Arthur and I knew he was the one who drove that car," stated Molly. "So he was way more at fault for that than you."

"Like we mentioned in the howler, we never blamed you in the slightest, Harry," assured Arthur in a soft voice. "Since you didn't mention anything to Ron about flying the car."

Harry nodded his head to show he understood. He was able to relax more now, since Arthur and Molly told him in person. Daphne grabbed a hold of one of Harry's hands to provide him comfort, since she knew Harry was bound to be terrified to face his relatives especially. The minister for magic, Cornelius Fudge entered and sat down on the minister's raised desk just as the members of the Wizengamot entered through another door and took seats in the Wizengamot box. Then the squib judge, Judge McNeil entered and sat down next to Cornelius.

After banging his gavel thrice, Cornelius announced, "Court is now in session! Time to bring in the first three defendants!"

Once he banged his gavel again, some aurors brought in Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Aunt Marge (all of whom were in shackles) and placed them in the defendants chair. Harry felt fear when Uncle Vernon glared at him, but another gentle squeeze of his hand from Daphne allowed him to relax again.

"Now Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley and Miss Dursley," Judge McNeil spoke up. "How do you three plead?"

"Not guilty!" chorused the adult Dursleys.

This caused some outrage, since the adult Dursleys were definitely guilty. Cornelius managed to get order restored, then he, Judge McNeil and the Wizengamot went over the charges against Vernon, Petunia and Marge. Charges included multiple counts of child endangerment, multiple counts of child neglect, multiple counts of child slave labour, multiple counts of assault and battery, multiple counts of bribery, multiple counts of slandering, and attempted murder on Harry (since they allowed Ripper to terrorize Harry and also would've allowed Ripper to maul Harry to death if he hadn't climbed the tree on the day of Dudley's tenth birthday). Marge was also charged with attempted murder on Amelia. The Wizengamot whispered to one another to come to a decision.

"We find the defendants GUILTY!" Lady Augusta Longbottom declared.

"Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley and Miss Dursley," said Judge McNeil. "You are hereby sentenced to spend the rest of your natural lives in muggle prisons!"

He banged his gavel to signal the start of the adult Dursleys sentences, much to Harry's relief. After the adult Dursleys were taken away, Dudley and his gang were brought in (also in shackles) and placed in defendants chairs. Charges against them included multiple counts of slandering (by making Harry look bad), multiple counts of assault and battery, and attempted homicide on Harry (which was because of all of their five-on-one beatings). Dudley and Piers were also charged with resisting arrest and assault and battery on an auror.

"We find Mr. Dursley, Mr. Polkiss, Mr. Reardon, Mr. Landfree and Mr. McNickol GUILTY!" chorused the Wizengamot.

"Mr. Reardon, Mr. Landfree and Mr. McNickol," said Judge McNeil. "You're hereby sentenced to five years in juvenile detention and 300 hours of community service!"

Judge McNeil turned his attention to Dudley and Piers. Those two were cowering in utter fear, but nobody cared.

"Mr. Dursley and Mr. Polkiss," Judge McNeil continued. "You're hereby sentenced to ten years in juvenile detention and 500 hours of community service!"

Then he banged the gavel on the desk to signal the start of their sentences. After Dudley and his gang had been taken away, headmistress Finster was brought in. She was charged with multiple counts of child neglect and multiple counts of corruption (for accepting bribes from Vernon). She was sentenced to ten years in a muggle prison and after that, five years probation and 200 hours of community service. After she was taken away, a half hour recess was called to give Albus Dumbledore and Gilderoy Lockhart some time to prepare for their trials. Harry was able to relax more now that his relatives, Dudley's gang and the former St. Grogery's headmistress had been taken care of. Now it was time to prepare to see Dumbledore and Lockhart face justice themselves.

 _To be continued!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: As normally mentioned, I just own this fanfic. The rest belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Fourteen**

After half an hour passed by, everybody filed back into the courtroom to get Dumbledore's and Lockhart's trials out of the way. During the recess, Harry was outraged to learn that Dumbledore (under the effects of Veritaserum) had confessed to have been paying the Dursleys to 'look after him,' on the condition that they treated him like one of their own. Amelia revealed to Harry that when Dumbledore also confessed to have known that Harry's godfather, Sirius Black was supposed to get custody and that the Dursleys weren't even named guardians, she assured Harry that a trial for Sirius would happen soon (since he never received one). Once everyone was back inside the courtroom, the court session resumed (with Minister Fudge banging the gavel three times to signal it). Dumbledore looked much older than his debatable age of 150, and he was in gray prisoner robes instead of his usual colourful ones. He was put into the defendants chair and placed in magic suppression shackles.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," said Cornelius. "How do you plead?"

"Guilty." stated Albus.

Harry was surprised that his now former headmaster was pleading guilty. He thought Dumbledore would've tried the same tactic the Dursleys did during their trials. Charges against Albus were multiple counts of child endangerment, kidnapping Harry, multiple counts of bribery (for paying the Dursleys to look after Harry), ignoring what the Potters' will mentioned, and multiple counts of corruption. Then the Wizengamot went over the charges so they could decided on Dumbledore's punishment. Then Augusta handed a piece of parchment to Cornelius.

"Well, Albus," said Cornelius, after he finished reading what was on the parchment. "Since you decided to plead guilty, it has been decided that you will be sentenced to 45 years in the Gringotts prison mines instead of Azkaban."

Cornelius banged his gavel to signal the end of Dumbledore's trial and the start of his sentence. Albus was taken from the defendant's chair and led away. Then Gilderoy was brought in and placed in the defendant's chair and secured with magic suppression shackles.

"Gilderoy Lockhart, how do you plead?" asked Cornelius.

"Not guilty!" said Gilderoy in overconfidence.

Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation, as did everyone else. Charges against the incompetent former defence teacher included unauthorized healing of Harry's arm that resulted in his bones being removed, harassment of Harry Potter, assault on a Hogwarts student (though indirectly, since tossing the snake into the air at the Dueling Club angered it to contemplate attacking Justin Finch-Fletchley), multiple counts of fraud and multiple counts of plagiarism (both of those were admitted by Lockhart under the influence of Veritaserum).

"We find Gilderoy GUILTY!" chorused the Wizengamot.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," stated Cornelius. "You are hereby sentenced to fifteen years in the Gringotts prison mines, then another fifteen years in Azkaban!"

The minister banged his gavel, thus signalling the beginning of Lockhart's sentence. The fraud was complaining that he should've been let off the hook (as all celebrities do, or so he thought) as he was taken away. As a result of being exposed as a fraud and a plagiarist, Lockhart was also consequently stripped of his achievements. After returning to Hogwarts, word about Lockhart's plagiarism and fraudulence was quickly spreading. All the teachers were ecstatic and relieved to hear about that, and the punishment Lockhart received. As Harry, Hermione, Neville, Lee and the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch players returned to Gryffindor Tower to kill some time before lunch, they spotted Ron (whose face was bright-red in extreme embarrassment) trying to rip up some parchment.

"Why do I keep getting mash notes?" Ron ranted. "That Bulstrode just won't relent! Those mash notes seem to appear outta nowhere when I sleep!"

"Relax, Ickle Ronnykins," chorused Fred and George in unison. "It's nothing to be ashamed of! Everyone knows you have the hots for Millicent!"

"Yeah, it's no wonder your face was bright-red!" Lee blurted out.

"Tell us, Ronald, what kind of ring will you pick out for Millicent?" taunted Harry.

"What about where you'll take her for the honeymoon?" Oliver joined in on the taunt.

"How many children will you and Millicent have?" Neville also joined in.

Ron couldn't take it anymore, so he ran out of Gryffindor Tower (with the mash notes still in his hands) and tried to find an isolated part of the castle to escape the taunts and steer clear of Millicent. This, however made Ron realize that he shouldn't have left the tower, because he had crossed paths with Millicent, much to her delight and Ron's disgust.

"I see you've been enjoying my mash notes, Ronnie," said Millicent with a smile on her face. "Which one is your favourite?"

Ron didn't answer the question and instead, he turned around and ran off. But Millicent was in tow, much to the amusement of the students who were witnessing the ordeal. Ron carelessly tossed the mash notes away as he continued running off in hopes that Millicent would see them and pick them up. Unfortunately for him, Millicent still continued the pursuit (since she knew she could just give Ron more mash notes). All too soon, lunchtime was approaching and the student body began to mosey over to the Great Hall. While on their way to the Great Hall, Harry, Neville and the Gryffindor pranksters came across Draco and he had Daphne pinned against a wall. Pansy was watching it gleefully, while throwing occasional glares at Daphne.

"What're you doing, Malfoy?!" Harry demanded.

"Ah, Potter," said Draco smugly, once he turned his attention to Harry. "I'm glad you strolled by and it was to tell you that you lost and _I_ won!"

"I seriously doubt that," said Harry irritably. "And having Daphne pinned to a wall? You've just barked up the wrong tree once more!"

"I'll prove to you that I'm making the right choice, Potter!" said Draco with arrogance in his voice.

He put his lips up to Daphne's and kissed her, right in front of Harry (who couldn't believe what he had just witnessed). Even Neville, Fred, George and Lee were watching in utter shock. Daphne was clearly trying to break free from Draco's clutches by squirming, but he tightened his hold to prevent 'his girl' from escaping. Daphne kicked Draco in the groin with her knee, forcing him to loosen his grip.

"Oooohhhhhh!" Draco squealed as he covered his groin with his hands.

Pansy angrily tried to come to Draco's defence by throwing Daphne onto the stone floor. As Pansy's hand touched the shoulders, Daphne quickly turned around, grabbed one of Pansy's wrists and proceeded to twist it.

"AHHHHHH-AHHH-AHHHHHHHH!" Pansy cried out, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as a crunch-like sound was heard.

Then she grasped her injured wrist once Daphne let go. Daphne was far from finished, since she punched Pansy in the stomach for good measure. Draco recovered a bit to look up and see Daphne wiping her lips with her arm (much to his shock) and walking up to Harry. Draco couldn't believe that Daphne started giving Harry a smile when she walked up to him, and Harry returning the smile. Then Daphne kissed Harry on the lips, much to his excitement and Draco's fury. Harry was blushing when he and Daphne stopped kissing, while Draco's face was red with anger. Harry felt his legs giving out because of his excitement from kissing Daphne and he fell backwards, but luckily Fred and George caught him before he could risk suffering a head injury. Draco got up and started stomping over to Daphne, until…

"What is going on here?" asked Professor Snape as soon as he strolled by.

"It was Draco and Pansy, professor," stated Daphne. "They cornered me just to give Draco the advantage. Then when Harry and his friends strolled by, Draco kissed me on the lips without my consent, in front of Harry especially! Then when I retaliated by kicking Draco in self-defence, Pansy tried to throw me to the ground, which forced me to retaliate in self-defence again."

Harry, Neville, Fred, George and Lee nodded their heads when Daphne finished. Professor Snape turned his attention to Draco and Pansy, and gave them a nasty glare. For the first time ever, Draco and Pansy were looking utterly terrified (as shown when they widened their eyes).

"Well, congratulations you two, you've just earned yourselves a trip to the isolation room in my office!" said Snape sarcastically. Then he continued in an angry and disappointed voice. "You'll be eating your meals and be spending the rest of the day there, too. You also won't be going back to the Slytherin common room tonight. Now go!"

Snape motioned with his thumb to prove to Draco and Pansy that he meant business. The two bigoted Slytherins nodded their heads uneasily and started reporting to Snape's office, getting more and more scared by the second. As they walked away, Draco and Pansy felt their lives flashing before their very eyes. After Professor Snape finished checking over the others, he started heading to the Great Hall.

'I do wonder what may have happened with Mr. Potter!' thought the potions master. 'He looked like his body had given out and fell backwards. The Weasley twins holding him up must be proof.'

Once they made it to the Great Hall, Harry and Daphne decided to join Tori at the Ravenclaw table (with Tracey joining them not long after). Neville went to join Hannah at the Hufflepuff table while Fred, George and Lee joined the Gryffindor chasers at the Gryffindor table. Tori pulled out a Daily Prophet article from her pocket.

"Daph, you and Harry need to read this!" said Tori ecstatically, handing the parchment containing the article to her sister. "Daddy sent our house elf to me to give it to me! He thought you and Harry wanted to be surprised by it."

Daphne took the article and showed it to Harry. They started laughing as they began reading it, and it said:

 **Lucius Malfoy, Dead!**

 _Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, age 38, was found dead in a Ministry holding cell in the early hours of February 25th. A bed sheet was found wrapped around his neck, and Lucius' face had a dark, pale colour. His body was taken to St. Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies And Injuries, where attempts to revive him proved unsuccessful and Lucius was pronounced dead at 9:00 AM. His death has been reported to have been a suicide. Lucius was awaiting trial for his crimes in regards to his connection to a strange diary that had been in Ginevra Weasley's possession for most of the Hogwarts school year. Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black) declined comment on her late husband's death._

"Looks like Luci couldn't handle the pressures of taking responsibility for his actions!" Daphne deduced.

"Pretty much," stated Harry. "But good riddance for trying to discredit the Weasleys."

"Yep, but the weaselette got herself into redundant trouble for trying to frame Hermione for her wrongdoings," said Tori. "But ole Luci committing suicide, that was taking the easy way out."

"A death sentence is also too easy," said Tracey. "Luci should've been sentenced to manual labour in the Gringotts prison mines, like Dumbledore and Lockhart."

"That may have been a sentence he was likely to face," Harry guessed. "After all, he hated to do things the muggle way, so what better way to sentence him to something he would've dreaded!"

Ron still didn't make it to the Great Hall for lunch, and Millicent was absent as well. This led the student body into guessing that they may have found an empty classroom or something to snog. Fred and George saw that as an opportunity to taunt Ron once they were all back in Gryffindor Tower. Harry and Daphne also began telling Tracey and Tori about what Draco and Pansy did and how Professor Snape gave them a paralyzing glare once he realized what had happened. The Ravenclaws sitting nearby were the first to hear and they began talking about what fate Professor Snape possibly had in mind for Draco and Pansy. It didn't take long for word to quickly spread throughout the Great Hall and the students were giggling like crazy.

After lunch ended, Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower to wait and see if Ron would turn up. For the same reasons, the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team (along with Lee, Neville and Hermione) also returned to their common room. It was a few minutes after walking back into Gryffindor Tower when the portrait guarding the entrance opened up again and in walked Ron. He was wobbling around as if he was losing his balance and his hair was all messy, much to the amusement of all who happened to be in the common room.

"So, how did the snogging session with Millicent go?" asked Harry in a taunting manner.

"I wasn't… snogging… that… snake!" Ron wheezed.

"Sure you weren't, Ickle Ronnykins!" said the twins sarcastically. Then they taunted Ron once more. "Maybe you were also enjoying her poetry that she more than likely read to you!"

"No I wasn't," said Ron hurriedly. "I was dre-eading every second of it!"

"Ha, you paused for a second when you said the word 'dreading,' Ronald," Oliver mocked. "So you must've been enjoying it!"

"You know," said Harry slyly. "Maybe I can talk to Professor Snape and McGonagall to see if we can invite Millicent in, so she can read the poetry for you in front of all of us!"

"If not," said Hermione, joining in on Harry's idea. "We can always talk to them about having Millicent actually read the poetry to you in the Great Hall during meal times!"

Ron screamed and ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, much to the amusement of all in the common room. They were all just rolling around on the floor, laughing in hysterics. Harry was able to relax and have fun, then he started revisiting the memory of Daphne kissing him on the lips and how nice it felt (which was making him grin). Harry still had no idea that there were still some surprises waiting for him.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to thank the user 'Jeff Is Me' for suggesting that Draco kiss Daphne on the lips, have her retaliate by kicking him, and then Daphne kissing Harry on the lips, making him blush and Draco turning red with anger.**


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: As I've said before, all I own is this fanfic. The rest belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Back in the isolation room in their head of house's office, Draco and Pansy were waiting in utter fright. They were beginning to learn their lesson rather harshly, but it was too late to repair the damage. They still thought that Professor Snape would overlook their behaviour like he always did, but this time wasn't the case. When the potions teacher came back while glaring at them and ordering them to sit in front of his desk, Draco and Pansy knew they were in deep trouble. As if that wasn't bad enough, Professor McGonagall arrived a couple minutes later and she, too had that very signature stern look on her face and this one was more intense. The two Slytherins were cowering in fear to see two teachers giving them intensifying glares.

"Since Minerva is now the headmistress," Professor Snape told Draco and Pansy in a stern voice. "We talked over what your fates ought to be and she came up with a really good punishment." Draco and Pansy gulped nervously and cowered more in their chairs.

"Exactly," stated Professor McGonagall seriously, her arms folded across her chest. "You two will be suspended for six weeks and when that ends, you'll be having detention for the rest of the school year and for all of the first term next year. Is that clear?"

Draco and Pansy nodded their heads uneasily. But their head of house and new headmistress were far from finished in giving out the punishment.

"Your parents will be notified of this behaviour, Miss Parkinson." stated Professor Snape in a no-nonsense voice. Then he turned his attention to Draco. "And your mother will also be informed of your behaviour, Mr. Malfoy. Furthermore, you two will continue to stay in the isolation room and have your meals there for the rest of the night. Now back in that room with you."

Draco and Pansy nodded their heads once again and obeyed their head of house's orders. Back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry was still lost in his thought with Daphne kissing him on the lips. He was unable to snap back to reality because of it having been such a wonderful moment for him (and for Daphne, too). Harry finally snapped back to reality when Fred, George and Lee patted him on the shoulders.

"What's up?" asked Harry.

"We have something that we'd think you'd like, Harry." said Lee.

Then he, Harry, Fred and George walked over to the fourth year boys' dorms (since it was just going to be them for a while), with the twins locking the door and casting some privacy charms. Then one of the twins pulled out some sort of parchment and handed it to Harry.

"What's this?!" asked Harry in surprise.

"That's the reason we've been able to get away with sneaking food and drinks from the school kitchens," stated Fred (or George), as he pointed his wand at the parchment and recited, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good!"

Then the parchment activated and started showing what appeared to be some sort of map. Intrigued, Harry looked at it in amazement. He realized that it was actually a map of Hogwarts since he saw his name, Fred's, George's and even Lee's, right on their respective exact locations. Then some kind of message appeared on the front of the map.

"Huh, messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, are proud to present: The Marauder's Map!" Harry read. "Who are Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?"

"We have no clue," said George (or Fred). "We nicked it from Filch's office in our first year after setting off some dungbombs in a corridor."

"But we were way more innocent back then, than today," said Lee. "We saw that the map was in a drawer marked 'dangerous,' so we looked in it after Filch left the office."

"Wow, it shows where everybody's at!" said Harry ecstatically.

"It also shows what they're doing every minute…" said Fred (or George).

"Of every day!" said George (or Fred).

"In order to wipe the map clean," Lee advised. "You just point your wand at the map and say 'mischief managed,' otherwise anybody can read it!"

"Wow, this is definitely something. It would've been useful for…" said Harry. Then he saw an unfamiliar name in his dormitory. The name said 'Peter Pettigrew,' making Harry suspicious. "Uh, who's Peter Pettigrew? I don't recall anybody with that name getting sorted at the sorting ceremony last year."

"We have no clue," said the twins in unison, as they looked at the map themselves. "Maybe we'd better investigate."

So Harry, Lee and the twins left the fourth year boys' dormitory and over to the second year's dormitory. Luckily no one else was there, so they walked in and looked for the person named Peter Pettigrew. His position on the map was right where Ron's nightstand was, but they only saw Scabbers asleep in his cage. This made Fred and George realize that something wasn't right, so they cast a spell on the cage to prevent it from being unlocked and opened.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"This can't be a real rat," the twins spoke up. "It's been with us for eleven years, belonged to Percy until he got his owl, Hermes. Then Scabbers was given to Ickle Ronnykins."

"This rat is even missing a toe," said Lee as he and the twins got a closer look. "We'd better get it to Professor McGonagall immediately!"

Upon hearing that, the 'rat' woke up and began panicking. It tried to escape, but it's attempts proved fruitless. So one of the twins picked up the cage with the 'rat' in it while the other twin recited the phrase to wipe the map clean and pocketed it. Then the four Gryffindors left their common room and began making a beeline for the headmistress's office. They crossed paths with the four heads of houses along the way.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Weasleys," said Professor McGonagall in a confused voice. "Are you four in a hurry for something?"

"Yes, professor," said the twins in their twin talk. "This rat that belongs to Ron looked pretty suspicious. It's been in the family for eleven years, but we investigated and saw that it's missing a toe!"

One of the twins handed the cage to Professor McGonagall, who took it and looked at the 'rat' closer. She was shocked to see that indeed, a toe on the 'rat' was missing, so she instructed all to follow her to the headmistress' office to prevent a panic from breaking out. By the time they reached the office, the 'rat' was panicking more and more and tried to bite it's cage bars off, to no avail. When Professor Snape opened the cage, the supposed creature dashed out and tried to make a run for it, until Professor McGonagall cast _finite incantatem_ , which reverted the rat into a man, who looked all shocked that his secret was finally exposed.

"Peter Pettigrew, how nice of you to stop by!" said Professor McGonagall sarcastically.

"Now n-n-now p-p-p-professor, all this can be explained!" said Peter nervously.

But all he got for a response were several wands pointed at him to ensure that he couldn't escape. Professor McGonagall fire called Madam Bones and informed her to bring several aurors with her and over to Hogwarts. Harry, Lee, Fred and George were utterly shocked to see that Scabbers was a person the whole time. Moments later, Amelia and several aurors arrived and upon spotting Peter, they felt their jaws drop open in shock.

"Well, Peter," said Amelia with contempt in her voice. "I can't say I'm surprised that you've been in hiding for eleven years. We were all told that you died a hero's death, but it turns out you set Sirius Black up and he's been spending eleven unjust years in Azkaban…"

"You alright, Amelia?" asked a dark skin auror.

"Kingsley," said Amelia to the dark skin auror. "When did Sirius receive his trial?"

"I don't think he received one." stated the auror named Kingsley.

"Then this needs to get resolved immediately, we need to find out who put an innocent man in Azkaban in a kangaroo court setting!" said Amelia firmly. Then she turned her attention to Peter. "Peter Pettigrew, you're under arrest for the murder of those twelve muggles and eluding the ministry!" Peter was placed in magic suppression handcuffs.

"Now, Peter," Kingsley began reciting. "You don't have to say anything, for it may harm your defence in court. Anything you _do_ choose to say can be given in evidence." So Peter was pulled up onto his feet and led away to be apparated over to the ministry.

"150 points apiece to Gryffindor for uncovering a shocking truth and for saving the student body from any more potential danger." said Professor McGonagall to Harry, Fred, George and Lee.

The four Gryffindors left the headmistress' office, feeling proud of themselves. Once dinner time approached, the four Gryffindors told their friends what all happened and they were shocked to learn that an innocent man was kept in Azkaban without getting a trial. Back at the ministry, Peter was questioned under veritaserum and he admitted to using his animagus form to his advantage, setting Sirius up by framing him for his crimes, and having eluded justice. Peter was sentenced to spend the rest of his natural life in Azkaban. Sirius was questioned under veritaserum and subsequently cleared from charges and given one 1.2 million galleons as compensation. Sirius also revealed that he was an unregistered animagus under the influence of veritaserum, but he was given the chance to register or else get reincarcerated, so Sirius quickly got himself registered.

For the rest of the school year, Harry and his friends were able to enjoy their time without any real danger. Sirius spent that time at St. Mungo's Hospital recovering from the influence of the dementors. Professor Snape took over as Defence Against The Dark Arts (with a man named Remus Lupin working alongside of him, to make up for the incompetent teachers Dumbledore hired previously). Harry eventually asked Daphne to be his girlfriend (albeit nervously), and she accepted it ecstatically. Gryffindor not only won the house cup for the second year in a row, but they also won the quidditch cup, too. Oliver was overjoyed that his dream to win the quidditch cup happened. All too soon, the end of the year finally came and everybody began heading for the school train to head back to Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station. Harry and Daphne were dragging their trunks behind them (followed by Tracey and Tori doing the same) and met up with their respective parents or guardians. Harry saw Sirius accompanying Lord and Lady Greengrass and he gave Harry a smile.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, pup!" Sirius apologized. "I intended to rescue you from those relatives of yours. If I'd known what Peter would've done, I wouldn't have tried confronting him."

"Apology accepted!" said Harry with a smile. "I'm looking forward to being with someone who'll treat me like family!"

"And I'll do anything to make sure of it, Harry!" Sirius vowed. He gave Harry a hug to prove it, making Harry smile.

"I'll do the same too, Harry!" said Remus. "I've been trying to find you since that fateful night, but everywhere I looked, you never turned up. I apologize as well for not succeeding!"

"Your apologies are accepted too, professor." assured Harry.

"But do call me Remus when school hours aren't in session, Harry," said Remus. "You only need to call me Professor Lupin when you're in class or out in the corridors." Harry nodded his head to show he understood.

"So you and Miss Daphne Greengrass are dating now, Harry?" asked Sirius. He and Remus caught a glimpse of the two holding hands when they left the train compartment.

"Yes," Harry admitted. "Several times throughout the year, she kept managing to take my breath away!"

"You and Daphne sure make a good couple," said Sirius and Remus in unison. "We approve of that!"

Harry and Daphne began blushing and looked each other in the eyes with grins. Daphne even saw her parents giving her and Harry encouraging nods and smiles, so she grabbed a hold of Harry's hand once more. Tracey and her parents also grinned upon seeing that, implying that they approved, too. Tori thought about pestering her sister about it in a joking manner, but decided against it. So Harry, Sirius, Remus and the Greengrass family began leaving the platform to go home (but not before Harry, Daphne, Tori and Tracey said goodbye to one another and their friends). Harry even promised Hermione that he'd write to her from time to time over the summer, as did Daphne. Harry was happy that he was finally getting the chance to have a loving and caring family for once, with Sirius, Remus and the Greengrasses determined to make sure Harry got the love and affection he'd been craving for for years. Things were now starting to look up.

 _The End!_

 **Author's note: I'd like to thank everyone who favorited and followed this story, and for providing positive feedback. And another thank you to all those who gave me some wonderful ideas, it was appreciative. If you're interested, check my profile page from time to time to be on the lookout for future stories!**


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